Family Secrets
by Aelisa LeMarchal
Summary: Abandoned Story - Kagome's cousin, Kiry, comes to visit from America, but InuYasha can't shake of the feeling that something is a little off about her. Turns out he's right...
1. Cousins REPOST

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Disclaimer: Ok, so I don't own InuYasha, but i wish i did, 'cause if so i. . .well, never mind. . .  


Family Secrets

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By: Aelinwen Elentari

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Chapter 1: Cousins

  
Kagome heaved her gargantuan, yellow backpack over the side of the Bone Eaters Well and hauled herself out after it. She snatched up her bag and ran into the house. Only after she locked the door behind her did she drop her pack and rest. '_That's ten times I had to 'sit' InuYasha to come home! Won't he ever just give up?!_' She gave a disdainful snort. _'Pigs might fly.'_ Then she giggled. _'Hey, maybe in the feudal era, some do.'_  
  
"Kagome, is that you dear?" came Kagome mom's voice from the living room.  
  
"Yes, mom. I'm back." she replied as she walked into the living room.  
  
"Hey, honey, I'm glad you're home. I need to talk to you about something." Her mom looked up from the show she was watching on t.v. and patted the couch beside her as she hit the mute button.  
  
Kagome plunked down with a welcome sigh. She missed cushions when she was at Kaede's house; all she had was. . .well, wood floor. "What's up, okaasan?"  
  
Mrs. Higurashi leaned forward with and exited look on her face.  
  
"My brother in America has a daughter, as you know, and we've never had the opportunity to meet her, as you. . .also know. So, he's sending Kiryki here for a week, or maybe more, depending on how you two get along." Mom looked absolutely thrilled at the thought of finally meeting her niece.  
  
"Really? Oh this'll be great! I finally get to see my cousin-Kiryki, you said her name was? When is she coming?" Kagome was practically bouncing up and down.  
  
"Yes, her name is Kiryki (A/N: Pronounce as Keer-ree-key). Now, he told me about this a month ago, but you've been gone, so I haven't had the chance to tell you that she's coming tomorrow-"  
  
"Tomorrow?! Oh horrors! I have to clean my room, do my laundry, turn in my homework-" as Kagome's little soliloquy went on she leapt from the couch and waved her arms around. "And, oh kami, what is InuYasha going to say about this? He's gonna go ballistic if I'm gone for a week!"  
  
"Kagome, slow down. Don't worry about it. Your room's clean, I'll do your laundry, and you can turn in your homework next week. Grandpa's got a story out that you're out with. . .um. . .a brain tumor, i think (insert Kagome's snort of disbelief). And we can worry about what InuYasha will do later. Just get ready for your cousin. Now shoo!" Her mom waved a hand at her to suggest she am-scray.  
  
As Kagome trodded up the stairs to the shower, she thought to herself. _'My cousin, eh? Wonder what she's like. . .'_  
  
Her uncle had never sent any other picture of her, other than a baby picture, and those don't count when you're 15 or 16, as her cousin was, so she had no idea as to what she looked like. '_Wonder if she's anything like me? Oh no, what if she's like InuYasha, arrogant, rude. . .sweet, cute. . .Ack! Where did that come from?! Ok, I'm going to take a nice warm shower, get some sleep, and forget about InuYasha. . .if that's possible. Stupid honyou, interrupting my nice clean thoughts like that.'_  
  
Kagome couldn't help it. It seemed that every little innocent subject somehow ended up with her mind pointed directly at InuYasha. She had tried an argument with her head one time to try to get it to stop, and guess how that went? (A/N: If you guessed 'It didn't work worth jack!' then give yourself an InuYasha plushie!)  
  
_'He's so. . .conflicting. One minute I think he may just like me, and the next. . .Kikyo. It always ends at her. Why could she just stop having break up issues and get on with death!'_ Kagome laughed at the odd statement running through her head as she walked into the bathroom. She gathered up her shower items and turned on the hot water. Her thought's continued as she shampooed her hair.  
  
_'Listen to me. . .Break up issues? Ok, i would so like to know where that came from! Alright, enough with this silly train of thought, jump off by the side of the tracks, and start thinking about tomorrow. Hey wait! Wasn't that formal dance thing about a month and 2 weeks away from when i last came back? I can take her to that! Oh, this is going to be so much fun.'  
_  
As she finished her shower, she imagined all the things they could do, all the places they could visit, with her cousin next week.  
  
@} ~ ~ ~ ~ ^ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
The figure crouched to the ground, bloody and rather beaten up, but this battle wasn't over yet! Not if they had any say in it!  
  
A growl sounded from the shadow standing, or rather, kneeling and gasping before the figure.  
  
They were alone in the woods, shrouded in the darkness of night, only a few bits and speckles of moonlight and starlight shinning through the trees. It made the whole affect of the battle grounds rather cool, in a creepy, dramatic way.  
  
"You think you have won, that you have a chance still!! He will not stop hunting you, even if you kill me! You cannot destroy him; you will be his!" The shadow screamed out.  
  
"Well, I may not be able to destroy him yet, but I will get rid of you, since your not worth my time anymore. Oh, but hey, don't feel bad, I enjoyed kicking your ass. Buh-bye!"  
  
As the last words were said, the crouching one leapt forward into the air above the bent figure. A sound of something sailing through the air, being caught, and the airborne frame landed neatly in the space of terra-firma the now rather dead one had occupied. It bent and picked up a small, glittering, pink object from the ground.  
  
A smirk flashed across a face, a shimmer in the partial light.  
  
_'One more for the puzzle, one more little piece of the full monty. Hehehe, getting closer, getting closer. . .'_  
  
A swish, a swirl of what might have been a cloak, and the presence of the being was no longer felt in the clearing by any perchance wishing to seek it.  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Hey, my readers (if i got any, cuz i hope i did)! This is my first fic, so if you haven't seen me around, there ya go! Puleeeze, push the tiny, blue button in the bottom left corner and tell me how i did. If you hated my story and decide 2 flame me, I'll just roast marshmallows over the nice bonfire!! Ja matta ne!  
  
**'.' Aelii-chan**


	2. Kiryki REPOST

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Disclaimer: The ownership of everyone's favorite dog-boy does not belong to me, but I'm bettin' he bloody well doesn't belong to any of you either. Poor us, ne?  
  
Arigato!!! to all my reviewers who sent me such wonderful praises that I was on an ego trip for 2 days! *Gushes* You like me, you really, really, like me!! I love you guys and gals!! Responses are at the bottom. This is extra long just for you 10 reviewers!!  
  
Family Secrets

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By: Aelinwen "Aelii" 

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Chapter 2: Kyriki  
  
  
  
Kagome ran around the room giving the vague impression of a chicken with it's head cut off. She had woken up a little late, thanks to her dag blamed alarm clock not going off when it should of, and was now running behind.  
  
"Where's my fuzzie purse?! I can't find it and it's the only one that matches this outfit!" She yelled down the stairs.  
  
"I don't know, honey, check under your bed!" her mom called back at her.  
  
Her entire family had been scrambling around the house, trying to locate all necessities needed for greeting their guest. For the girls that meant make-up, hair curlers, and the perfect outfit. For the Sota, for Grandpa wasn't coming with them, that meant combing his hair for once and putting on a shirt nicer than a T-shirt, if one could be found.  
  
Five minutes later Kagome's purse had been located under a strategically placed pillow in a nefarious corner of the living room, Sota had been well thwacked for hiding it, and they were pulling out of the driveway.  
  
Kagome was really nervous about meeting Kiryki. She had called the night before to say come pick her up at 10:30 in the morning. Kagome had been catching up on much needed sleep at the time and hadn't had a chance to say hello.  
  
_'Gods, this is torture. I hope she likes me, and I dearly I hope InuYasha doesn't come through the well griping any time soon-he would probably scare Kiryki out of her wits. . .'_  
  
Kagome turned her head to stare out the car window at the landscape she didn't see at all.  
  
@}~~~~^~~~~~~~  
  
"What gate did she say to get her from?" Sota asked as they went through the customs. He took about ten jacks and a ball, a toy car, and key to Kagome's diary out of his pocket and put them in the basket the security guard handed to him. Upon going through and being found ok by the machine, he collected his stuff--minus the diary key-- and a few whacks on the head from Kagome as he joined the others, who had gone through before him.  
  
"She didn't say a gate, she said to come and get her in the coffee shop, that she'd be in there. And when I asked how we would recognize her, she just giggled and said to look for a blue fairy. Then she gave a cheerful 'Ja na!' and hung up. I have an odd feeling that we're in for an interesting week." Mrs. Higurashi said with a knowledgeable air.  
  
Kagome tugged at her skirt in an expelling of nervous energy. She had sweated over what outfit to wear and had finally come up with the best one she could find. A purple sundress, mid-thigh length, and a white button-up over shirt to compliment her dress. White sneakers covered her feet and her purple fuzzie purse accessorized the outfit.  
  
'Oh I shoulda worn the blue top with the capries!' Kagome thought, wringing her hands as every step she took brought her closer to the coffee shop. _'I look like a school girl, not like a. . .a. . .cool person at all! She's going to think I'm an idiot.'_  
  
Having convinced herself of this incorrect statement, she rounded the corner and walked into the coffee shop.  
  
By some devious and unconscious design, Kagome had been put in front of her family as they walked and was the first person to glance around inside the shop, which had been named a rather odd name of 'La Perk'.  
  
The occupants, there were four, of 'La Perk' included and old man and lady in a booth towards the front, a man with a cinnamon roll in the middle-ish, and. . .that last girl could only be her. Her back was turned to them and a long cascade of rich brown hair tumbled down the back of the chair. A blue suitcase to rival Kagome's backpack sat next to her.  
  
This was seen in a glance because there wasn't time for much else. The girl tilted her head to the side like she was listening to something, and then stood and turned around.  
  
There was no other word for it, Kiryki was just. . .COOL! Her stunning hair was only the beginning of her looks. Light lavender-blue eyes set in an angel's face took in the sight of Kagome and her family and gave out nothing in return. Blue jean short-shorts, a white tube top, and a blue jean jacket said she had attitude as well as taste; Adidas with blue stripes, a blue purse, and, yes, blue sunglasses perched on her head spoke coordination and her favorite color.  
  
_'Blue fairy, indeed. Gulp, mou, she might smile or something, give us some indication she's not a real angel who's going to disappear at any second.'_  
  
A smile lit up her eyes then spread to her mouth with pure delight. It was as if she had flicked a light on and it was now glowing from inside her. Kagome couldn't help but smile back. A few quick steps and she stood in front of the three of them, hands outstretched.  
  
"I've never seen you before, but you can't be anybody else but Kagome." Her voice was musical, pleasant.  
  
"That's me! Kiryki-" she started.  
  
"Oh, no. No one calls me by my full name but my chemistry teacher, and he's evil. Kiry (A/N: Keer-ree, in case you wanted to know. Which you probably didn't. . .hehehe) is my name, feel free to wear it out." Kiryki--Kiry--stated with a giggle.  
  
"Well, Kiry," Mrs. Higurashi said, "you sure are a lovely girl. You must have gotten your looks from your mother, ne?"  
  
"Thank you, yes, among other things. And you look a little like tousan, Kagome--only prettier, and girlish." Kiry stumbled, in a wild attempt to turn what might not have been taken as a compliment into one.  
  
Kagome was just about to ask Kiry the 4-1-1 on her life, likes and dislikes, but her mom fired in with polite questions about her trip, her heath, and her family. So, Kagome just stuffed the questions back in her head for later examination and followed her family out the coffee shop doors, feeling only slightly forgotten.  
  
Just then, Kiry turned her head around to face Kagome and gave her a sly wink that promised long conversation and a pajama party that night.  
  
Feeling a warm glow fill her chest, Kagome skipped after her cousin and okaasan, leaving Sota to drag the heavy suitcase behind them.  
  
@}~~~~~^~~~~~~~~  
  
InuYasha was grumbling to himself, probably not things at all suitable for little children to hear. His back was still funked up from the last string of sits. _'Why did Kagome have to go and make a mantra of them?!?! Grrrrrr. . .'  
_  
Shippo peeked around the tree that was giving him a brief bit of shelter. InuYasha had been grumpier than normal since Kagome left and he was most definitely not looking forward to having to tell InuYasha Miroku needed to talk to him.  
  
_'Crap. . .Ah, to heck with this, I'm doing it from a distance.' _The chibi furball thought to himself.  
  
"InuYasha, Miroku needs to talk to you. About some shards, I think." Then he ran. . .unfortunately not fast enough. He got caught in about .3 seconds from taking off.  
  
_'I'm dead now.'_ He thought and closed his eyes. Kagome wasn't around to protect him and InuYasha didn't need a reason to bat him around like a volleyball. Or some type of ball Kagome had mentioned one time when she was yelling at him for striking Shippo.  
  
This time, though, InuYasha just held him up by his tail and glared. And glared. And glared some more. Finally Shippo couldn't take it anymore.  
  
"WHAT?!?!" he shouted.  
  
The look that came over InuYasha's face was comical, like he couldn't figure out just what he was doing either. His face held that expression for a moment. . .then he just dropped the kitsune. And ran, or leaped, (or both) off.  
  
_'Huh?'_ was the only thought the bemused baby youkai could think as he watched InuYasha disappear in a red blur.  
  
@}~~~~~^~~~~~~~  
  
_'Couldn't hit 'im, Kagome would get mad. Mad Kagome's are not good things, this I know.'_ He growled to himself as he ping-pong-ed his way to Kaede's house. _' And mad Kagome's never like hanyous in any position but kissing dirt, let alone them.'_  
  
When he skidded to a stop in front of Kaede-obaa-sama's house, Miroku and Sango were sitting on the grass in front of it, Sango polishing her giant boomerang and Miroku with a red palm mark on his face.  
  
_'Lech.'_ InuYasha thought with disgust. _'Musta tried his "charisma" on Sango.'_  
  
"So what's the deal, bozu? Shards?"  
  
Miroku looked as if he didn't even notice the crimson spot on his face. "Yes, a group of lizard youkai's down southways was heard to have had two or three of them."  
  
"Good, I'll go get Kagome." The hanyou started to turn away but was immediately 'suggested' to stay put by Hiraikotsu coming down on his head.  
  
"You give her a night or two with her family; I won't kill you. You can get her in the morning. Now look, you made me smudge the wax!" Sango calmly went back to her weapon and InuYasha went to find a convenient tree to grumble about women and his now aching head.  
  
  
  
**A/N:** My second chapter, I can't believe I did it! SQUEEEE!! *Does happy evil puppy dance around computer*  
  
Oh, yea, Responses:  
  
**Dark Jedi Princess ~** You were my 1st reviewer! Yay! I couldn't figure out what I was doing, still can't, and have given up and resorted to these things ' . But thanx for trying to help the helpless! Hehehe!  
  
**Teri22, Gryphnwng, Jennifer, Amber (hi sis!) ~** Thank you sooooo much!!!! Your reviews have made some of my friends hate me for my visits to Cloud 9!  
  
**Holly supple ~** Chibi, you read it! WAI!! Thank you and HUGGIES! I did what you wanted and wrote more. Happy? Yay!  
  
**Aberuncate ~** Cool name. Where'd ya get it? I'm on your Favs?!?! OMG, thank you! *faint*  
  
**Queen DemonZora ~** I'm going to cry now! Thank you, thank you, thank you Becky!  
  
And in the words of every other writer on this web site *Review onegai!* Ja matta ne!  
  
**'.' Aelii**


	3. That's What Girls Do REPOST

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Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha, much as I would love to have you believe that, but I do own Kiryki. And any caught trying to steal her without my permission will have close encounters with my "Frying Pan of Death" and my "Flower Vase of Justice"! Oh, and I don't own CC, she's my imoto-chan's. Hehehe. . .  
  
**A/N:** Okay, I think for the rest of my fic I'm going to post my responses and A/N's at the bottom of the chapie, unless they're important enough to go at the top.   
Family Secrets  


Family Secrets

  
**By:** Aelii-chan  
  
**Chapter 3:** That's What Girls Do  
  
The ride with Kiry had been full of fun. She had a great sense of humor and kept up a very lively conversation.  
  
None of them had eaten that morning since they were in such a rush, and Kiry said she hadn't dared to touch the plane food, so Kagome's mom took them out for lunch. Over a plate of sushi, rice, and udon, Kiry revealed that she loved pets.  
  
"I have two cats (insert Kagome's "Yay!"), one named Chocolate Chip, the other with the very unfortunate name of Princess Minnie Ha-Ha the Magnificent."  
  
When everyone gave her the 'Come again? Say huh?' look, she just explained with "My mom named her, and I didn't want to know, so, I didn't ask. The cat's a real brat, too. CC's a bum: she sleeps all day and attacks my feet at night."  
  
Everyone laughed and, encouraged, Kiry went on. "I also have a dog and a hamster. The former named Belle and the latter named Toronto. Do you have any pets?"  
  
Kagome giggled. "A fat, lazy cat named Buyo. He's our only resident furball."  
  
_'Well, kinda. . .though, InuYasha doesn't exactly count as 'resident'. . .I think.'_, Kagome thought.  
  
Kiry looked at her with humor still shining in her eyes. "Are you not a dog person or sommat?"  
  
Sota and Mrs. Higurashi choked on their sodas. Kagome was having a little trouble keeping her face strait. Kiry looked at them with an innocent 'What did say?' look, her of course not knowing she had made a comment that could be taken several ways to the Higurashi family.  
  
"Oh, no. I. . .like dogs just fine." She spotted Sota opening his mouth to say something, probably something she would have had to kill him for, so she quickly suggested that since they were all done with their lunch, they could go the home.  
  
@}~~~~~^~~~~~~~  
  
Kiry plunked her giganormous suitcase on the floor by Kagome's closet. Then she straightened up and looked around the room, a thoughtful expression on her face.  
  
"Your room looks like my room at home." She said. "Well, not looks, per say, but it feels like my room. Friendly, and definitely a girls room." She walked over to the window and looked out. Pointing, she asked, "What are those buildings?"  
  
Kagome walked over to join her. "That one's the storeroom, and that one's the well house. There's an old dry well in that one, and the storeroom's full of just-as-old junk."  
  
Kiry gave a nodded 'Cool.' and then turned to Kagome, the humor sparkles back in her eyes.  
  
"Ok, I have to know, how long did you take to pick out the perfect 'Meet- the-cousin-you've-never-seen-before-and-I-want-to-make-a-good-impression' outfit this morning? It took me probably 30 minutes to finally decide on this one." Kiry grinned sheepishly.  
  
Kagome laughed till she had to sit down on her bed. All doubts about her itoko not liking her disappeared in a flash. "20 *gasp* for me *gasp*."  
  
Kiry had started to laugh when Kagome did and folded herself down into a sitting position on the ground, holding her stomach.  
  
"And to think I was nervous to the point of being a wreck." Kiry said, still chuckling.  
  
"I was terrified! I was sure you were going to think I was an idiot, or un- cool, or that I dress like a schoolgirl, or something like that." Kagome confessed, abashed.  
  
Kiry eyed her critically, and then grinned. "Most definitely not an idiot, you're not un-cool, but if you have any reserves on your outfit, I can do something about that. Not that it's not cute, it is; I like it personally, but it's not exactly an attention grabber, and it does kinda say 'Really hasn't gone shopping in a year', no offence." She scooted over to her suitcase and unzipped it. The quantity of clothes she had crammed into it was impressive: about the entire stock of merchandise from Hot Topic.  
  
Kagome slid off the bed and crawled over. "None taken, I really haven't been shopping. Our school has uniforms and I. . .just haven't had time to go shopping for non-school clothes. Too busy." She perused the contents of the luggage, thinking at the same time, _'Another example of the past interfering with the present.'_

  
Kiry glanced up at her. "School tough, keepin' ya running in circles?" Without waiting for an answer she bend down to grab a few thing from the bag and handed them to Kagome. "I think we're the same size, we look it. Go try these on; you'll look cute in them."  
  
"Ok, sure!" Kagome skipped to the bathroom and closed the door. She looked at the blue gingham halter top and white shorts that were as short as the pair her cousin was wearing. 'Gee, I've never worn anything like this. (A/N: She hasn't, right? Oh well, she hasn't in this fic, and that's all that matters, ne?) *snort* Miroku would flip a gasket if I did. Hmmm. . .wonder what InuYasha would think? Listen to me, I'm thinking crazy thoughts! Enough of that!' She finished tying the strap and went back to her room.  
  
Kiryki was looking down at her CD case and smiling, but looked up as Kagome walking into the room and twirled in a circle to show off. Kiry clapped her hands.  
  
"Bravo! See, you look fab-u-lous!" She dragged out the word, and Kagome, over to the full length mirror in the corner.  
  
Feeling much more confident in herself, Kagome pulled Kiry over to her suitcase.  
  
"What else have you got in there?!" Kagome asked excitedly.  
  
Kiry giggled and that's how they spent the rest of the evening, indulging in fashion.  
  
@}~~~~~^~~~~~~~  
  
The next morning, around 10-ish, InuYasha jumped out of the well into the present, or, future, depending on who's opinion you were going on. Sango hadn't let him come before now, saying that Kagome was probably sleeping still and "for heavens sake, sit down and stop wearing a hole in the floor!" So he sulkily sat down and grumbled till Sango got tired of that too and yelled at him "Fine go! But if you get 'sat' for waking her up, don't blame me!"  
  
So here he was now, opening the door of the Well House and making his way to the tree outside Kagome's window. InuYasha stopped for a second, checking the surroundings. He could hear Kagome's okasan in the kitchen, probably making breakfast. Sota and Grandpa were in the living room, something on the 'television' thingy making them argue. Kagome was in her bedroom, he could smell her from down here.  
  
If there was one scent he most loved, it was hers, sweet and warm, full of life and vitality.  
  
He sniffed again. _'Something else? No, nothing's there now. Musta imagined it.'_ He shook his head, as if to clear it, and then leapt into the tree. And nearly fell right back out again.  
  
_'Oh. . .my. . .gods. . .'_  
  
  
  
**A/N:** HAHAHAHA! A cliff hanger! How many of your guys's heads are in the gutter? *sigh* What am I to do with you people? Lock you all in boxes with InuYasha wallpaper, I know. . .  
  
**Ryu ~~** Gomen nasai for not giving you a response in the last chapie!! I got distracted and. . .well, I'm you know how that goes. Thank you for the raves!!! Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. . .you'll just have to keep reading and find out! Hehehe. . .see my clever scheme?  
  
**Kiana ~~** Oh my. . .I'm sure there was a 'Great story' in there somewhere, so Thank You!  
  
**Amber, DaddyDoo ~~** Don't worry, the romance will come. . .*cackles*  
  
**DJP, Kagome07, Jupiter's Light ~~** Hehehe. . .Thank You ma petie.  
  
**Gryphnwng ~~** The sad thing really is that I was still up when you wrote that, I hadn't gone to bed yet so it was, like, 2 in the morning when it came to me! Don't worry, I up-date quickly.  
  
**Skara Brae ~~** Thanx, and here ya go! Now review, onegai.  
  
Well, there everyone goes! *AHEM* REVIEW!  
  
**'.' Aelii**


	4. Death by Embaressment REPOST

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Disclaimer: The Inu-clone Skara Brae gave me is all mine, but not the genuine McCoy, he's Rumiko Takahashi's (did I spell that right?). But Christmas is coming soon. . . (hint, hint to all my friends reading this, as I know some you are) Any and all songs mentioned do not belong to me, the belong to. . .whoever they belong to (da!).  
  
*~Life is short! Break some rules!~* (Why? You'll see. . .)  
  
Family Secrets  
  
**By:** Aelii-chan  
  
**Chapter 4:** Death By Embarrassment  
  
". . ." ~ talking '. . .' ~ thinking *. . .* ~ action while talking ^. . .^ ~ song lyrics  
  
  
  
Kagome awoke to the faint sound of music drifting through the room directly into her ear. She cracked a blurry blue-gray eye and with some squinting managed to make out the numbers 9, :, 1, and 3 on her alarm clock. Poking her tousled head from under the covers, she spied Kiry sitting at her desk, still in her green pj's, head firmly clasped between earphones and nose shoved directly in an astonishingly thick book.  
  
"Ohayo, itoko." she said without glancing up.  
  
_'How'd she know I was up? Musta heard me move. . .'_ She stretched and blinked in a kitten-ish manner.  
  
"How long have you been up?" Kagome asked, still in that state of light stupor all people have when they wake up.  
  
Kiry finally looked up as she closed her book and peeled off her headphones. "Oh, maybe an hour or so-ish."  
  
"Ok, that's just wrong after how long we stayed up."  
  
"Well, it wasn't exactly late. . .and we kinda didn't get to finish our game of dress up either, what with Aunt coming in and telling us to get-to-bed-as-in-now." This was said with a humorous smirk that Kagome had quickly become familiar with.  
  
Kagome's mom had come into the room sometime around eleven o'clock, saying she didn't want to hear another giggle, pop song, or rustle of clothing in exactly 20 minutes. So, feeling rather chastised, the girls meekly complied by slipping into tank tops, flannel night pants, and covers. But only after Kiry had wound her cousin's hair into rag rollers to "give it some snazzy curls".  
  
Now Kagome shook her head to feel the little balls of material and hair swing against her cheeks. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, stood up, and stretched again.  
  
"No, we didn't. And there was one more outfit you wanted me to try?" she asked, now fully awake.  
  
"Hai, but I'll let you take a shower first. Get ready for the day before you try on this one. It's one of my favorites and I rock in it, and since I know you look fantastic in my other clothes, I'm sure you'll look slammin' in it, too." This was said with the self-assurance of a fashion goddess making a proclamation that would be taken on her word immediately and forever be a fashion statement.  
  
"M'kay." Said Kagome agreeably. Then she pulled on the curlers. "Is there anything I should do with these?"  
  
"Just don't get 'em wet: it'll take all the curl out." She stood up, too, and walked to the door. Then she turned around. "I'm gonna snag something to eat while you're drowning yourself *wink*. When you're dry, bang on the wall and I'll bring you the clothes. See ya in a bit." She turned again and traipsed down the stairs, calling behind her, "And don't touch those curlers!"  
  
Kagome shook her head again, this time at her silly cousin, and picked up her towel to go 'drown herself', as Kiry had oh-so-wonderfully put it.  
  
@}~~~~~^~~~~~~~  
  
Whap! Whap!  
  
Kagome smacked the wall and than tied her towel more tightly around herself.  
  
_'Just what is this "slammin' " outfit?'_ she thought with a bit of trepidation. She yanked the shower cap off her head, which she had used to make sure her hair didn't get wet (A/N: That was 4 any guys reading this story that don't have a clue about girl hygiene. Not all of you but some of you might not know, so this is me helping.).  
  
There was a thump on the door. "Yoha! It's me!" came Kiry's voice.  
  
Kagome opened the door and allowed her cousin to step inside the doorjamb. Kiry had this look on her face. It was a cross between evil and oh-I-am-so-going-to-love-your-reaction-to-this. She held up the outfit. Kagome's eyes widened.  
  
"You have got to be kidding me!! That should be made illegal! Do you actually wear that?! In public?!" Kagome whisper/shouted.  
  
Kiry grinned. "Oh, yeah! Mostly when I go clubbing though." She said this like it was the most natural thing in the world.  
  
"You go clubbing? How on earth do you get in; you're too young." Kagome looked from her, to the outfit, and back to her again. _'Then again, that thing might get her anywhere and anything. . .' _(A/N: For those of you getting impatient, I'll describe it when I'm damn good and ready. Relax, I haven't forgotten.)  
  
"Just try it on. Now, I'm tellin' you right now you are most defiantly not wearing it out of this house, but it'll be fun to see yourself in it, trust me." Kiry turned and walked off, leaving the show-stopper in Kagome's limp hands with a cocky look so like InuYasha's, she was speechless.  
  
Kagome closed the door and examined the clothes with skeptical eyes. They really should be illegal. _'I can't wear something like this! It's. . .it's. . .' _Suddenly her eyes got a reckless look_. 'Why can't I? No one but Kiry will see me, and it'll be cool to try something this daring. Yes, I will.'_  
  
With that decision firmly tucked in her head, she promptly yanked on the clothes.  
  
@}~~~~~~^~~~~~~~  
  
Kagome walked into her room again, and stopped for Kiry to examine her. Kiry had apparently discovered Kagome's CD player and had put a mix of random songs on. Her face had lit up with a big grin the second Kagome had walked in, but now it threatened to burst the lines of her face.  
  
"Oh yeah!" She exclaimed. "*whistle* You go girl! Now come here an let me fiddle with your hair."  
  
She cleared a place on the bed in front of her for Kagome to perch and started untying the little hair balls, letting the curls fall out. Then she combed the tightly spiraling raven mass to perfection. As a last touch, she twisted the hair up and shoved two black hair chopsticks in the twist to hold it in place, letting the cascade of curls fall neatly between them.  
  
"All done! Oh, wait. . .one sec. . ." Kiry jumped of the bed and kneeled by her suitcase, digging for something and not finding it. She looked around the room and growled "Can't see to find it. . ." She bounced up again and opened the blinds of the window, letting in sunlight. She looked out to see a clear, perfect day.  
  
"That's better." She resumed her digging and came up with and tube of lipstick. "Here we go!" She scampered back to her bewildered cousin and lightly ran the dark crimson make-up over Kagome's lips. "All done now. I'm going to use the bathroom to get dressed: I already took a shower this morning, but felt lazy, so I just put my pj's back on. Go look at yourself in the mirror."  
  
Snatching up a few objects out of the luggage, she skipped of to. . .do what girls do.  
  
Kagome, left on her own now, stood up and crossed the room to her full length mirror. A woman stood in her place and regarded her with the same amount of awe on her face as Kagome must have had on hers. _'Hey, and a very sexy woman at that!'_ she thought to herself as "Turn Off The Light" by Nelly Furtato came on.  
  
The black leather micro-mini-skirt hugged her hips into curves she never even thought she had. The top was also black leather, zip-up, V-necked, sleeveless. It clung in all the right places and gave a new definition to drop-dead-knock-out. With the lipstick and new hair-do, she looked good enough to kill a boy at one glance. (A/N: Now boys, stop drooling!)  
  
_'Ok, so it's a little short. . .ok, so it's really short. . .and I would ever wear this in public. . .but it's good to know I actually can look. . .um. . .'slammin'.'_  
  
The music picked up a little for the chorus and in the typical way of all girls, Kagome decided to see how the skirt moved. So, she started to sway her hips to the music. ^She ain't so rough, rough, rough, until you turn out the light, turn out the light. . .^  
  
Feeling encouraged, she moved her hips a little more and raised her arms over her head.  
  
^. . .until you see all my dreams, see all my dreams. Not everything in this magical world is wha-a-a-at it seems.^  
  
"What the hell?!"  
  
Kiry's voice interrupted Kagome's dance party with such abruptness Kagome was shocked. She, still in the arms-over-head position, turned around to explain her actions-very understandable actions-when she found her cousin wasn't looking at her.  
  
She was staring at the middle of the room, at nothing, with a hand thrown out in a reflective manner, as if to say 'Stop!'. Then her eyes traced a path through the air, strait to the window. Kagome turned around an looked at the window also. And nearly fainted dead on the floor right then and there.  
  
_'Oh. . .my. . .god. . .'_ her sluggish brain put out.  
  
_'InuYasha. . .'_  
  
  
  
A/N: Hey, should I stop here? *Sees all readers armed with various items of torture* Oh well, deal with it. This is where I'm stopping for today. I'll write more craziness tomorrow. Or today, depending on how many reviews I get. So far it's 35!! SQQEEEEEEE! *does happy evil puppy dance* I love you guys!! *give hugs to each and everyone of her readers* At this rate I'm turning you all into cliff-dwellers. Get it? I thought about naming this chapie 'Death by Em-bare-ass-ment' but it didn't really fit. What do you think?  
  
**Notanigen, sageheart86, Kage Koneko, Kat/DJP ~~** *blush* arigato. . .  
  
**Suya ~~** I think with this chapie I shoved their heads more in the gutter, ne?  
  
**Jupiter's Light, Skara Brae, Gryphnwng, Solange the Sunchaser ~~** HAHAHA! Another one! Oh, I am soooo evil, aren't I?! Sorry, couldn't help it, really couldn't. Oh, and I got the name when I was bored in chem class; I had FFX on my mind and Rikku somehow got blenderized into Kiryki.  
  
**Black Wolf (brat child), Holly (imoto-chan) ~~** I just love you guys. You so wholeheartedly support my zanyness that I wonder if I should get your heads checked. . .And Holls, you can't use that treat, it's my threat. Well, one of my less severe ones. . .the boys on the roof, ne?  
  
**Ryu ~~** *BLUSH, BLUSH, BLUSH* Creative? Moi? Thank you times 10! So is this better than him just jumping through the window and chaos ensuing?  
  
**Becky ~~** I'm writing, I'm writing!! Just no mobs! LOL! ;)  
  
**'.' Aelii-chan** of the evil cliffhangers! *runs from knives, maces, and African tribal staffs hurled at her*


	5. Murphy's Law REPOST

****

Disclaimer: I own InuYasha. Oh wait, what did you say? It was an imagment of my figmation! Oh drats..WAAAH!  
  
**Inu-clone:** *bounces over* Hey Aelii! You may not own him, but I own you!  
  
**Aelii:** *Turns on him, outraged* Excuse me? Who's owning whom here!?! *Tackles*  
  
**Inu-clone:** *Tackles back. This ends in a giant mistake on Inu-clone's part when he gets his ass thoroughly kicked!*  
  
**Aelii:** Ha! I say, again, HA! I win! *Runs, fast*  
  
Family Secrets  
  
**By:** Aelii-chan  
  
**Chapter 5:** Murphy's Law  
  
**Caution:** Since InuYasha is present for the rest of the ficie, there will be swearing. If you have any objections to potty mouths, present in both InuYasha and Kiry (yes, she has a naughty tongue-and that was a bad thought for all those who thought it!) , turn around and go back to your box.  
  
**A/N: **Bakabakashii me forgot to say that when Kiry opened the blinds, she opened the glass part of the window too. On with the fic!  
  
  
  
When InuYasha had jumped into the tree, the last thing he had expected was for Kagome to be awake. He thought for sure that she'd still be asleep. Ok, so there was music playing, but she could still be asleep.  
  
But when he had looked into the room to find Kagome in the most reveling outfit he had ever seen on her, his golden eyes had nearly popped out of his head. That skirt was even shorter than her normal ones, by kami! And unlike her normal ones, this one was clinging like a second skin to her hips! _'Oh why didn't I just swallow my impatience for one day! And. . .oh no..'  
_  
She had started to 'dance'. And what that song was insinuating wasn't helping his train of thought any either. His brain slowed, stopped, and spun around in a circle. Then it took a flying leap off sanity (what little there was to speak of) and dove deep into the gutter. Until it was properly yanked out by a girl's voice practically shouting, "What the hell?!"  
  
Kagome spun around to look at a girl he vaguely noticed as being on the planet. Then her eyes slowly came up to meet his. Shock and horror came into her eyes.  
  
_'Oh shit, I am so gonna be dead. I hope someone writes me a nice eulogy. . .'_ he thought, until his eyes decided to betray him, again, and as she lowered her hands, he took in the shirt she was wearing. As if the skirt wasn't bad enough! She saw the path his eyes made and the look that said 'SIT BOY!' came on with full force.  
  
The music stopped.  
  
_'Oh fuck! I'm not Miroku! I don't do this! Ok, so I'm enjoying this. . .but. . .wait second! Who the hell is she?!'  
_  
@}~~~~~~^~~~~~~~  
  
Kagome was struck dumb. _'No, no. . .kami-sama no! This. . .not supposed to see. . .would he stop staring?!'_ She lowered her hands to ball them into fists by her sides.  
  
_'No, of course not,'_ her brain argued back, _'he is male, therefore, he is looking.'_  
  
_'Just my luck that the one thing that I could be wearing when InuYasha comes to get me would be the one thing that I don't want anyone to see me in, much less him! I look like Yura of the Hair!'_  
  
She saw his eyes make a dip from her eyes to her shirt and then she got mad. _'Ouuu! How dare he.!'  
_  
Kiry had been looking back and forth between the two with a very amused look. Then an evil glint came into her lavender eyes. Finally having enough of the silence that came after the song, she started to hum a few bars of the chorus of "Bootylicous".  
  
Kagome turned on her cousin, forget in a second about her anger at InuYasha. "Ok, that's just wrong! No, No!" And then she spun around, back to InuYasha, who started to look panicky. "As for you-"  
  
InuYasha cut her off before she could plaster him to the ground. "Who's she and what is she doing here?!"  
  
Kiry stepped forward and gave a three fingered 'Hi-ya' wave. "Hi, I'm Kagome's cousin, Kiry. I'm staying at her house for a while. Wow, she didn't say anything about having such a cute boyfriend." She tilted her head to the side and cocked her hips to the right.  
  
Kagome gaped at her bold cousin. Then she regained her scattered senses. "He's not my boyfriend! I don't have a boyfriend!" Since she was facing Kiry, she missed the expression of slight disappointment flit across InuYasha's face. It was gone almost before it was seen by violet eyes. Fortunately for him, the holder of those eyes didn't say a thing, just tucked the info back into her head for further reference.  
  
Kiry turned confused eyes to her cousin. "But. . .how. . .how could he not be? Not with. . .huh?" She shook her head, as if to clear it. "He's outside your window for cryin' out loud!"  
  
InuYasha had apparently had enough of sitting on a tree limb and jumped through the window, landing in front of the girls. Kiry looked unfazed. . .that is until he started sniffing her.  
  
(A/N: Ok, now I'm just going to put whatever anyone is thinking in the same thing and not spilt them up anymore because I'm a lazy lil furball.)  
  
_'She smells. . .like nothing. Well. . .not nothing, just something really light. . .hardly detectable. She smells. . .sparkly? How can she smell-'_  
  
"Oi, what are you doing?!" Kiry stepped back quickly, bumping into Kagome. She turned around and saw Kagome, looking rather uncomfortable in her outfit. "Ok, I'll take pity on you." She grabbed another outfit, this one much more acceptable, out of her suitcase and shoved it into Kagome's arms. "Now shoo! I'm tired of your 'not-your-boyfriend' drooling at you."  
  
"ME?! Stare at that wench? What's there to stare at?" InuYasha's reaction was immediate.  
  
So was Kagome's. "SIT!!!!" She stalked out of the room as InuYasha was left eating carpet and cussing the air to the seventh level of hell.  
  
Kiry looked from the prone dog-eared boy to the doorway where her itoko had been. "Did I miss something? Kagome you have a hell of a lot of explaining to do!"  
  
_'This has got to be the worst day of my life. . .'_ thought Kagome as she closed the door behind her, locking out the profanity spewing hanyou and the now squealing "COOL!" girl as she discovered the former's puppy ears. "Murphy's Law must die. . ."  
  
**A/N:** Ok, so not a cliff hanger, sorta. I meant to have Kiry create more wackiness, but decided to end it here, in favor of much needed sleep. I'll make the next chapter extra long to make up for it, okey dokey? I am soooooo loving driving you guys up a rubber wall! What will come out of my twisted mind next, I wonder. . .  
  
**DaddyDoo ~~ **Piffle 2 you on the fashion show. But thank you for the rest. Don't worry the chaos will come, in unstoppable bunches. . .he he he. . .  
  
**Jupiter's Light ~~ **I'm really driving you nuts aren't I? Ok, I'll take pity on u. Is this ending less of a cliffie 4 ya?  
  
**Black Wolf, Kat/DJP, anonymous, Kin-chan Pandun ~~** I am so glad you like it! You make me soooo happy!  
  
**Holly Supple ~~** A Polish Mace?!?! SQUEAK! WRITING! HONEST! Hehehe. . .  
  
**Skara Brae ~~** If I didn't torture you, then where would I get my daily dosage of fun? And the Inu-clone is. . .well. . .you read the disclaimer. I think he's still out for the count. Oh NO! he's after me! *Runs, followed in hot pursuit by Inu-clone* Inu-clone: Get back here! I'm not done with you yet! Aelii: @.@;;;  
  
**Warrior of Forest ~~** I think I'll take it to Mars. And then to Venus. Get it?  
  
**Tenshi no Yami ~~** Thanx 2 the both of you for that bit of encouragement!  
  
*AHEM!* Review! ONEGAI!  
  
@.@** A very tired Aelii-chan** (need sleep, can't go on. . .ZZZzzzzz. . . ~.~ )


	6. Rabbit Holes, Lechers, and Chaos as a Re...

Disclaimer: InuYasha will be mine when the sky rains down giant toads, green flamingos live in the desert, and Sesshomaru finally admits that he's really a girl. In English: NEVER! *sniff, cry, bawls*  
  
Family Secrets  
  
By: You know who it's by, for heaven's sake! I'm not repeating myself.  
  
Chapter 6: Rabbit holes, Lechers, and Chaos as a Result  
  
A/N: I am sooooo sorry about the lateness of this chapter! I know I promised that I would up-date every other night, but now that I'm off of vacation, I just know I'm going to have some trouble doing that. But I will up-date at least once a week, and every once and a while, more, n'kay? And can I just say. . .I HATE HOMEWORK!!!! ARGH! Ok, done now. . .  
  
"So let me get this strait. You have a well that goes back in time? And he's half inu-youkai? And you two, along with four others, search for these Shikon shards, that used to be one ball called the Shikon no Tama? And he fights demons that get in the way of this search?"  
  
They were sitting at the dining room table, well, Kiry and Kagome were; InuYasha was sitting on the counter in his typical 'I'm-not-listening- honest-but-I'm-aware-of-every-little-word-you-say-and-oh-by-the-way-I'm- still-pouting' pose (A/N: He's so kawaii when he does that! Ok, so he's kawaii no matter what you do!) Kagome had gotten out of Kiry's clubbing outfit and was much more comfortable in a pair of shorts and a baby doll tee that proclaimed 'Chick Power', which InuYasha had took one look at and snorted.  
  
Kagome had just finished telling Kiry about the Sengoku Jidai and the Bone Eaters Well, minus the parts about Kikyo and InuYasha, InuYasha's New Moon problems, Sesshomaru, and Naraku. Those weren't hers to tell. Now Kiry was giving them that look she did when she wasn't letting a single thought show on her face or in her expressive eyes. She repeated the short version of the tale in questions, as if to make sure she had gotten everything correct.  
  
"Yah, that's about the gist of it." Kagome was starting to get nervous. 'Why do I feel like she's going to say I'm a psychotic freak? Please, Kiry, say something. . .'  
  
InuYasha snorted, eyes still closed. "You forgot one part. She gets kidnapped and I save her pathetic ass."  
  
Kagome flashed him a look that promised him trouble up the wazoo if he opened his big mouth again. He could practically feel her scalding eyes boring a hole through his head and smirked. Kiry made a noise that sounded suspiciously like she was choking down a laugh. Kagome turned her livid gaze to her cousin, who looked more innocent that should be deemed possible. She could care less that Kagome was giving her death glares; that was how close they had gotten in one night.  
  
"Well, back to the subject at hand." Kiry looked at her cousin and InuYasha in a way that was uncannily like Kag's mom's 'Behave!' look. "Kagome, this just rocks!"  
  
"I-huh?" Kagome was thrown for a second. 'Wait, this was supposed to be where she told me I was nuts!'  
  
"Kag-chan, think bout it! You act like it's a major drag. You have a well. . .in your backyard. . .that can take you through time! Hello?! And, oh, hey, a cute boy, watching your butt."  
  
InuYasha snapped out of his aloof position with a gulp/snort/puff of outrage. "Just what are you accusing me of bitch?!?!"  
  
Kiry rolled her eyes and muttered something that sounded like a self- explanatory (to girls) "Males. . .", then she said, in an exaggerated tone, as if she were speaking to a complete moron (A/N: Which she was if you think about it ^.~) "I MEANT that she had you watching OUT for her, so she wouldn't get HURT. Mou, men are such pervs. Oh, and thank you for the wonderful compliment."  
  
Kagome blinked. "Compliment? There was a compliment in that sentence?"  
  
"Of course he did." Kiry was grinning in a rather disturbing manner. "He called me a bitch. Rather interesting choice of word usage for a dog-demon, ne? Does he ever call you that ?"  
  
InuYasha blanched. 'Uh oh. . .' Kagome's face had gone from bewildered to shocked/horrified. 'I've called her that so many times, I've lost count. Wasn't thinking. . .or was my subconscious knowing what it was doing. . .for once.'  
  
Kiry saw the tell-tale evidence on Kagome's face and rushed on before the two of them could get into a 'SIT-THUD-cuss-SIT-THUD-cuss-repeat-10-times' argument. "Well, this is just. . .neat! So when do we go?"  
  
A ivory head and a ebony head twirled to look at her. "Go?" they asked in unison.  
  
"Yes, go. With you guys. Back in time. These are all statements, not questions, by the way." Kiry had this look that could have been a mirror of Kagome's when she is being stubborn.  
  
"But. . .no one can travel by the well but me and InuYasha."  
  
"Well, why don't we test that. Lemme try to get through. I'll just jump in and if it works, I'll come right back so that I can pack my bag. If not, then you can go and I'll be here when you get back." She said after a moment of thought, glancing into space.  
  
"No-" InuYasha's expression of denial for the privilege was killed before he could get a second syllable out.  
  
Kagome looked thrilled at the idea of her cousin coming with her. "Yeah!" She jumped up and grabbed Kiry's hand. "Let's go!" She started to run out the door, dragging Kiry, when she noticed that InuYasha hadn't followed them. She poked her head back in. "InuYasha, aren't you coming?"  
  
He looked from Kagome to Kiry, who had that 'Behave!' look on her face again. He 'feh-ed' and stood up, following them out the door.  
  
@}~~~~~~^~~~~~~~~  
  
Kiry stood on the brink of the well, looking down with speculation into the deep black depths. "So, I just. . .jump in?"  
  
Kagome nodded. She didn't feel like talking just now. 'What if. . .what if she makes it? What if she can come. . .and I can finally have someone from here with me. . .someone who knows what everything back here is like? That would be so cool.'  
  
"Can we hurry it up already? We have shards to get." InuYasha was getting very impatient.  
  
"Jeez man, cool your jets. I'm goin', I'm goin'." And she dropped. Not a jump, she dropped, like she was stepping off a diving board. And fell. . .and disappeared in a swirl of blue light.  
  
Kagome hadn't realized that she was holding her breath until she let it out in a sigh of relief. "She made it. She made it!" In her joy, she grabbed InuYasha's arm and hug/squeezed it, letting go as fast as she had touched him. She was too excited, waiting for Kiry to come back, that she failed to see the expression that registered on InuYasha's face. It was awe, it was shock, it was disbelief. 'She. . .she. . .she did that so unconsciously. Like it was just a normal thing, to hug a demon. Well, ok, half demon, but still. . .Kikyo never did anything like that. It was so. . .stilted, our. . .romance.' He glanced at Kagome, who was still staring down into the well. 'Is she even aware of what she did?' He was about to say something, when the well glowed blue once again, and Kiry came into being at the bottom.  
  
She looked up. "WOW! Now that was fun! Can't wait to do that again." she looked around the well, and then up at them again. "Now, just tell me how I get outa this thing!"  
  
@}~~~~~^~~~~~~~  
  
Fifteen minutes later, much to a certain furball's displeasure, Kagome was running around the kitchen, stuffing boxes of instant ramen (A/N: Dog-boy's gotta have his ramen! *wink, wink*) into her backpack. They had run out back there, so she had to stuff practically the entire cupboard's worth in the already over stuffed yellow monster. Kiry had taken every single outfit ("All skirts. . ." she had tisked.) out of her pack and proceeded to put in "much more sensible" ones. Now she was upstairs, packing her own backpack, which she a pulled out from some hidden pocket of her luggage.  
  
InuYasha was outside after filling Kagome in on jewel shard whereabouts, now opting to stay where there were no "human-y smells to over tax his nose". Kiry had muttered something in English at that and was refusing to translate it.  
  
Kagome ran up the stairs, finished now with her food stuffing, and swung herself around the doorjamb into the room, just in time to see Kiry clipping something round her neck. "Hey, what's that?" she asked, curious. Kiry hesitated, then held out. . .a necklace. It was a clear crystal, small, only an inch long, in a tear drop shape on a silver chain. "Oh that's pretty! Where did you get it?" Kiry dropped it back to it's resting place against her chest.  
  
"It was. . .given to me. . .by someone very special." She said.  
  
"Boyfriend?" Kagome asked slyly. Kiry hadn't said anything about having a boyfriend.  
  
"No." Kiry responded simply, in a tone that some how forbade further inquiry, starting to zip up her backpack. She had changed her clothes to tight black leather pants and a modest blue tank top, her hair in the same style as Kagome's, up in a twist. She stood up and yanked on a black leather jacket. Kagome tilted her head to the side and looked her cousin up and down. Those pants were surely going to get Miroku in trouble.  
  
"Kiry, how much leather do you own?"  
  
"Uh," she looked down at herself, as if just realizing what she had put on. "I guess quite a bit." She looked up with a sheepish grin.  
  
"Can we get going now?! We have shards to collect, saving your majesties' presence's!" came the voice of one very patience depleted InuYasha.  
  
"SIT!" Yelled Kagome. The resulting effect of the prayer beads could be heard ringing through the air in some of the most foul utterances known to human- and demon-kind alike.  
  
@}~~~~~~^~~~~~~~~  
  
"This is just amazing! I mean, look at this scenery! You can't even find this type of surroundings in the best of modern Japan!" Kiry was walking and. . .well. . .spinning around, looking at everything. Her eyes darted from here to there, taking in every detail of the landscape. Kagome started to look around with eyes that hadn't seen it that way for the longest time.  
  
"Feh! It's just some old trees!" InuYasha snorted.  
  
Kiry stopped and gave his back a long look. "Are you always this much a pain in the ass, because if your planning on keeping this up the entire time I'm here, I'm really gonna have to kick it into shape."  
  
InuYasha halted in his tracks and spun around to face her. He was the picture of pure male arrogance. "HA! As if a wimpy little human like you could ever hope to take me!"  
  
Kiry face was the epitome of female arrogance, sure and confident in her capabilities. "We'll see." The sheer blandness of the answer, the tone in which it was said, and the fact that Kiry was refusing to rise to his challenge gave InuYasha a second of wiggy-ness, but in a second was Joe Smug again.  
  
"Feh! I'd-" he started, but, again was interrupted.  
  
"KAGOME!!!!!!" shouted a voice. Shippo came careening around the trees to fly into her arms. "I missed you! I missed you so much! I-huh?" he had spotted Kiry, who was looking more amused than ever at the kitsune's obvious affection for her cousin.  
  
Shippo jumped down and walked over to Kiry, who crouched down to oblige him. She grinned at the green-blue wide-eyed fox. "Well now aren't you just a perfect cutie? I'm Kiry. I'm Kagome's itoko."  
  
Shippo's heart was won in New York minute. (A/N: Which technically shouldn't be any shorter or longer than any other minute any other place- *readers clap hands over Aelii-chan's mouth*-Ok! Fine! Writing. . . sheesh. . .) "Cousin? Cool! Kagome, you never told me you had a cousin that could come through the well!" Shippo leapt back into Kagome's arms as they approached Kaede's hut (house? What would you call it?).  
  
"Well, Shippo, I didn't know she could either. She kinda came on the spur of the moment, both here and to my house." Kagome petted Shippo's fluffy tail, glad that he had accepted Kiry so readily. InuYasha, on the other hand, was looking especially grumpy.  
  
"How come you don't have a smell?" Shippo asked Kiry with his typical charm.  
  
InuYasha started. 'The brat picked up on it too! So it's not just me thinkin' I'd finally cracked!'  
  
Kiry shrugged and gave an odd smile. "I don't know. Nobody ever told me that before." Her eyes slanted to the left. "I guess no smell is better than a bad smell, ne?"  
  
'She acts like she's hiding something, but what?' InuYasha's feelings on the small brunette were getting weirder with each new odd thing that came up.  
  
By this time, they had reached the front of the hut and Shippo had gone pelting in with a high pitched "Kagome's back! Kagome's back! And she has a cousin!"  
  
Miroku and Sango, with Kirara on her shoulder, came out and looked at the leather clad vision. Miroku sprang forward and took Kiry's hand with enough speed to shame InuYasha.  
  
"Lovely maiden, I am Miroku. Kagome never told us she had so fair a cousin. Would you do me the honor of bearing my child?" Four hands came down on his skull with a *THUD!**BOOM!**BANG!* and one sickening *CLANG!*  
  
Miroku looked up from his new position at Kiry's feet. "WHAT?!?!" he asked, just a little dizzily.  
  
Kiry had watched this odd display, not being an active participant of the indenting of the lecher's skull, with-again-a look of amusement so highly developed that it should be fined. Now she bent down, crouching, to look the monk in the eye. . .the slightly out of focus eye.  
  
"Miroku, thank you for asking me such an honoring question, but I must say that I to say that I can't, I'm sorry." Kiry somehow managed to say this with a perfectly calm and serious expression.  
  
Miroku looked at the girl in front of him with something akin to respect. He stood up and dusted off his robes, then put down a hand to help Kiry up. She took it and was pulled to her feet. He bowed over her hand, then looked at her and smiled.  
  
"You are indeed a gracious lady, and I thank you." He released her hand, allowing her to turn to Sango. . .until he saw those pants. He salivated, his hand reaching towards it's demise. . .when Kagome decide to 'help' him out by thwacking him in the head, hard. His consciousness was not missed.  
  
Sango stepped forward with an outstretched hand, which Kiry gladly took. "I'm Sango," then pointing at the fox-cat demon on her shoulder, "and this is Kirara."  
  
"Furukuri Kiry." She said easily. She held out a hand for Kirara to sniff, which she politely did.  
  
"I hope that InuYasha wasn't too much of a. . .erm. . .shock, when you saw him this morning?" Sango was curious as to how this pretty girl had taken a. . .uh. . .loudmouthed inu-youkai bursting into the Higurashi Shrine at 10:00 in the morning.  
  
Kiry's eyes had, for some odd reason, taken on a very mischievous glint as she glanced briefly at her cousin, who began to look a little panicked. "Well, you see, that's a very interesting story because-" He sentence was ended by a hand clamping down on her mouth. The owner of the hand, Kagome, was giving her a 'Shut-up-or-I-so-swear-I-am-going-to-kill-you-and-then- bring-you-back-so-I-can-kill-you-again!' look.  
  
"Well, now that's a wonderful story, but don't we have jewel shards to collect? Ok, good so lets get going!" She grabbed her cousin's wrist and began yelling at her in whisper. Kiry just turned around and gave Sango a wink and a mouthed "We'll talk later."  
  
Sango sighed in an exasperated manner after she had given a big grin in response to the unsaid statement. 'What on earth did Kagome get herself into this morning? Obviously something embarrassing. . .' she glanced at Miroku, who was still on the ground, regaining his (slight) wits.  
  
"Come on, voyeur" she said prodding him with her boot. "Time to go." She walked on. . until she felt a hand caress her rump. She spun around with a backhanded swing and knocked the monk back on his own butt, again. 'Gods,' she thought, stomping away, "why must I be forced to lo-like!-a man with such horrendous habits!' Shippo leaped after her, to jump on Kiry's shoulder, much to her delight.  
  
Miroku got up for what seemed like the umpteenth time this morning, dusted himself off, and then ran after the girls, calling "But, Sango-".  
  
InuYasha was left standing there, watching all of them start down the path that led to where the youkai's they were looking for were. 'I have a feeling this one is going to be different from the rest, but in a good way or a bad way?'  
  
"Hey! InuYasha! Aren't you coming?" Shouted Kagome, breaking into his thoughts. He snapped his head up to see them waiting. . .waiting for him. 'Oh, well, puzzle this out later-we have shards to find!' he thought at himself.  
  
He gave a nod and then leaped off, ahead of them all. As usual. The rest followed at a less lively pace.  
  
@}~~~~~^~~~~~~  
  
A couple of hours later they were still walking, though somewhat less lively than before, the long walking having worn on them all. . .all that is but mr. Happy-go-Bouncy-through-the-trees. Noooo, he was still walking like there was no tomorrow.  
  
Kagome had been walking along, not keeping an eye on Kiry, who was at this present moment recounting the mornings incident to Sango, who was trying not to die of laughter, when she felt the presence of a shard in her mind, two shards to be exact. Coming. . .strait at them. . .fast. . .oh no. . .  
  
InuYasha lifted his head and sniffed. Then he growled, getting stares from everyone but Kagome, who completely understood his agitation. 'This is too fuckin' great! Just what I don't need! Kouga. . .'  
  
  
  
A/N: AH-HAHA! What happens next, I wonder?! Am I an evil puppy or what? But, I am a happy evil puppy who loves each and every one of her very patient readers, who I'm sure are ready to give me the most horrible case of dead ever seen! YAH!  
  
Comechatcha, Ash ~~ Isn't Murphy's law great! Evil, oh yes, but great!  
  
Black Wolf ~~ I'VE corrupted YOU! I thought it was the other way around!  
  
Notanigen ~~ Does that mean it's good? Poor little lost me. . .  
  
Jupiter's Light, Dark Jedi Princess ~~ You guys are such faithful reviewers! Can't tell you how much that means 2 me! You supported my insanity, now see what happened? Craziness! Hehehe. . .  
  
Skara Brae ~~ *hides under a VERY big rock* Gomengomengomen!! Here it is. . .finally. . .oy. . .  
  
DemonDuelst ~~ Well here's an even bigger cliff! Climb this one, if you dare! ;)  
  
Mandy ~~ Awww. . .how sweet, thanx very much!  
  
^.~ Aelii-chan, Keeper of the 'Happy evil puppy dance', and the evil cliffies! *runs!* 


	7. Smartass meets Dumbass

Disclaimer: Grrrr. . .I'm running out of odd things to say on these. Do ya'll even read them? In case you do, here is one. . .InuYasha-chan-wa watakushi-no kare-shi-de su! At least in my head. Does that mean I own him? Can anyone guess what I said? Hehehe. . .  
  
A/N: If anybody is OOC in this chapie, I'm sorry. I've only seen up to the eppie where they introduce Onigumo and InuYasha was being a little punk and blocking Kagome from the well. All information I have on other characters is from the wonderful writers of this site.  
  
Family Secrets  
  
By: A happy evil puppy who just got 2 see 'Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers' on opening night at 12am. DAMN was Legolas HOT!  
  
Chapter 7: Smart-ass meets Dumb-ass  
  
"Kouga! He's on his way here." InuYasha growled. 'Great! As if we don't have enough 'fun' when he comes around, now we have a girl around who has no idea what's going on, can't fight but for a sharp backhand, and has a temper and a smart mouth that goes off like a shot!'  
  
For a split second InuYasha entertained the memory of when Miroku had first groped Kiry's rump. Before Sango could bang him with Hiraikotsu, Kiry had back handed him to the ground quicker than Kagome could say 'Sit!'. She had tilted her head to one side as she looked down at the now prone monk, who was looking up at her with swirly eyes. She gave him a "Don't do that again." and kept walking. Sadly, the lecherous monk hadn't taken her advice and had ended up on the ground about two more times, the last Kiry cussing him out enough to make his ears ring.  
  
He glanced at the others. Miroku looked like 'Oh-gods-here-we-go-again-may- I-kill-him-now-thank-you'. Sango just looked resigned. Shippo was like 'Joy! Entertainment!' on his face. Kagome had this 'Oh dear. . .' expression. Kiry was watching the rest of them with 'Amused/bemused/eh?' on her mobile features.  
  
He shook of the random scatterings of thought and grabbed Kagome's arm.  
  
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" she yelped. InuYasha paid absolutely no attention. He dragged her back to stand by Kiry, who twitched her eyebrows together at his odd behavior.  
  
"Just stay behind us! I'm tired of that wimpy wolf trying to-"  
  
"Inu-kuro, trying to stop me from taking what's rightfully mine again!" came one of the most annoying voices on the planet, according to InuYasha. The wolf-youkai's voice.  
  
The hanyou turned around. There was Kouga, pale blue eyes flashing, black hair ponytail-ed up high, cocky expression on handsome face, tail twitching behind him.  
  
"I'm *going* to stop you from taking what's only yours in your disillusioned dreams. . .again." InuYasha said cockily, making each word a taunt.  
  
The others bunched together, hiding Kagome from sight, who was blinking rather rapidly, trying to get a grip on a Vaseline covered handle of life. . .or at least the conversation. . .if there *was* a conversation to begin with, and not just a testosterone battle.  
  
"Step aside dog-turd! Kagome is MY woman and I have come for her!" Kouga tensed, as if to run and grab Kagome, whisking her off to who-doesn't-want- to-know-what, but InuYasha decided 'Uh-uh, no sir!'.  
  
As Kouga rushed past InuYasha, the hanyou grabbed his right arm and used his forward momentum to swing him around and slam him against a convenient tree. Kagome's voice started to come from the wall of human bodies blocking her from Kouga. "InuYasha, don't. . ."  
  
And, as usual, he ignored her. "Feh! Get it through your thick head, baka- yaro: SHE'S. . .NOT. . .YOURS! You have no claim on her!"  
  
'And she's mine!' InuYasha yelled in his head, not ever daring to say it out loud.  
  
Kouga gave a wiggle of struggle. InuYasha's arm didn't budge so Kouga stayed sandwiched against the tree.  
  
"HA! She loves me, we were meant for each other!" Kouga shouted, starting to struggle a little bit more. Everyone gaped at his boldness, Kagome the most of all. 'Since when did he get it into his head that I *loved* him?! This can *not* be happening! Ouuuu. . .' Kagome moaned inwardly to herself.  
  
'Blink, blink' went InuYasha's eyes. Then he recovered, ten times more pissed off than he was before. "MEANT FOR EACH OTHER! WHY I-!"  
  
WHOCK!  
  
Everybody stopped all actions, even breathing for some, and nobody moved. Right above Kouga's neatly done up pony-tail-not even an inch above-was now. . .a fan? It had imbedded itself horizontally, deep into the tree, still slightly quivering from it's flight.  
  
InuYasha spun around, thinking "Kagura! She has uses that fan of hers as a weapon!", but found no trace of the wind-youkai anywhere. Instead, a slim, pale hand was raised above the other's heads, in the position of having sent the projectile.  
  
InuYasha growled, 'suggesting' the others to move out of his way, so that he could see the culprit. The parted like the Red Sea, looking back as they did so, revealing on the other side. . .Kiry, who looked like she was *really* trying not to laugh.  
  
"What the fuck was that?!?!" InuYasha exploded. Everyone else was doing the 'living statue' thing.  
  
"If we are done with the wonderful display of testosterone, could we please talk rationally." Seeing no forthcoming arguments, she went on. "That's much better, thank you."  
  
The brunette lowered her arm to bring one finger to her now smiling lips, pressing the pad against them. Then she raised it in the air, just to bring it back to them as her smile got bigger. Then she finally decided to cross her arms against her chest.  
  
"Now, she's.*snort*.who's.*giggle*.'woman'? Now pardon me for finding this a bit wonky. . .but. . ." she devolved into giggles.  
  
The entire group, Kouga included (who still hadn't moved-he was afraid of more fans coming his way), was still in various stages of shock. Sango came out of it first.  
  
"A shukusen!" she breathed. She looked at Kiry, who was still giggling her fool head off, as if she were a new Christmas present.  
  
Miroku turned slightly to her. "A what?"  
  
Sango was practically glowing with excitement. Miroku thought she looked positively radiant. "A shukusen," she repeated, "a lady's fan. Noble ladies carry them for self protection. See," she pointed to the fan above Kouga's head, getting everyone else's attention in the process, "they have a blade on the edge of the fan. I've heard some can cut through steal. . ." she trailed off, admiringly looking at the fan.  
  
Kiry had finished her laughing (finally) and was looking at Kouga amusedly. "Now who's woman is she, again? Please feel free to enlighten me." She smiled and InuYasha looked at her carefully. 'She looks like she knows something we don't. . .why?'  
  
Kouga looked at her as if to say 'Is this chick for real?', then his smugness returned-well, never really having left, it just went on hiatus- and boasted "Mine! (insert Kiry's fresh snort of amusement) She is! Hey!" He turned to InuYasha, who had that 'I'm-really-going-to-rip-open-your- stomach-take-out-your-guts-and-put-'em-in-a-bowl' look. "Why don't you mate this girl: she looks like she'd be perfect for a inu-kuro like you, and that would leave Kagome to me!" (A/N: Now just doesn't Kouga come up with the brightest idea's!)  
  
Kiry's laughter cut off as if she had sliced it with her shukusen. Cold fury covered her face. 'But no smell! She should reek of anger, but not a thing! What the hell is she?!' InuYasha thought, shocked, again.  
  
In what seemed like one swift movement, Kiry took two steps forward as her right arm snapped down to her side. Something shot out of her sleeve and Miroku could have sworn he felt a flicker, just a hair, of an aura then. Kiry flicked her fingers out, spreading them to their farthest width: another shukusen. She slashed her arm up, to rest right under Kouga's neck.  
  
Kagome squeaked, Shippo gulped, Sango's eyes widened, Miroku concealed a 'Woo-hoo-you-go-gurl' look, and InuYasha looked like he had just watched his cat get run over by a spaceship. Kouga, he started to sweat. He hadn't missed Sango's comment about the lady's fan being able to cut trough steal and decided that moving, or even twitching, was a very, I repeat, very, bad idea.  
  
The ookami looked into the pale purple orbs showing above the top of the fan. They didn't even blink as they glared right back. Cold as ice, and twice as hard as diamonds. 'And not a scent,' thought Kouga, 'nothing but. . .sparkly? Huh?'  
  
"Do *not* mock what you do not see clearly." Her voice reflected said description. Her eye flicked down to the fan that bisected her face (not literally) horizontally then traced a burning line up to his eyes again. "I've heard the best way to see is to be blind. Would that help you? Oh, look." She looked at his cheek. "You missed a spot shaving this morning. Let me take care of that for you." Quicker than her officially awed and freaked out audience could track with their sight, Kiry slipped the fan from under his neck and brushed it against his face.  
  
Kouga barely felt it. He had stopped breathing since the fan had been arranged next to his jugular. When the holder of the deadly instrument took a step back, he started to catch up on that much missed air.  
  
"Go, and if I see you within a fortnight, I'll do worse than shave for you." She stood, calm and collected.  
  
He inched aside a few steps, putting some space between himself and this crazy bitch. "I'll. . .I'll come back for you later, Kagome." Then he turned tail and fled as fast as his Shikon shard enhanced legs could carry him.  
  
Everyone watched the dust trail float back to the ground, and then turned to stare at the girl responsible for the quickest getting-rid-of of Kouga they had ever seen.  
  
  
  
A/N: HAHAHA! ANOTHER cliffie! Whatever shall ya'll do? And killing me is not an option. Again, I'm really sorreh about the (again) lateness of this chapie. Blame my wonderful friends (*glare*) who love to talk to me when I'm trying to write. Well, them and school! Grrrr. . . .evil school. I'm so happy! I got 2 InuYasha DVD's today and I can't wait to watch them!  
  
DemonDuelest ~~ Here! Now you can stop killing me on AIM! Now dangle some more! LOLOL! Hugs, chibi!  
  
Ryu ~~ There you are! I was worried I had lost myself one of my better reviewers! Yes, the Kouga sentiments (or lack-there-of) are felt by all. Es'pes'ially me (if ya couldna tell from above *giggle*). OMG, that mental image is just 2 great! Kouga in a tutu! LMAO!  
  
Silver Trumpet ~~ We are corrupted. Let us leave it at that.  
  
Jupiter's Light ~~ I LOVE YOU! I could have hugged you to death after your review. I had been having a bad day, and that just made my day perfect! So ARIGATO x 1000!  
  
Skara Brae ~~ Hey, I want a Kouga voodoo doll too! Run him over with a spaceship for me! Well, I'm glad Miro-sama was Miro-sama. . .lecher that he is. . .-.-;;; LOL, hehehe!  
  
SageHeart86 ~~ I will. Trust me, I won't ever drop this fic, I'll just be slow about it some times, but I will NEVER just drop it. ^.^  
  
Dark Jedi Princess ~~ Ah, my won'erful Bri'ish ins'iga'or. An' Siri's's spe' came ba'. Sen' Bakkie af'a' 'im, please? LOL, hehehe!  
  
And again, I ay to all of you, *AHEM* REVEIW! ONEGAI! There will be no new chapie 'til I get at least 15. I was a lil miffed at the low review last chapie. But I forgive you all and love you anyways!  
  
XO's, ^.^ Aelii-chan 


	8. Mysteries

Disclaimer: I won't ever have the pleasure of owning InuYasha, as much as I would kill to be able to. If Rumiko Takahashi wants to sue me for writing this fic, the only things she's getting are 4 boxes of Beanie Babies, a PS2, and my Japanese dictionary, for I own practically nothing else.  
  
This chapie is dedicated to:  
  
Jupiter's Light ~~ Your reviews are an amazing inspiration to sessho, de gozaru! I can't tell you how much they mean to me! *cries rivers of happiness*  
  
Skara Brae ~~ Hey sweetie! I love talking to you all the time! You have become one of my best friends! Never stop being the wonderful, RANDOM, shining person you are!! All hail the Jello! ^.~  
  
Dark Jedi Princess ~~ Hey hun, the fact that you still talk to me after I haven't posted a new chapie in so long and managed to not sic Malik on me is amazing. . .I stand in awe. ^.^  
  
BeckyGurl ~~ Please call off the fans and the demon hordes!! They've chased me for 10 blocks and they still won't give up! *pant, pant* ACK! Here they come again! *Runs away as rabid fan people and hell hordes come after me again*  
  
Family Secrets  
  
By: A dehydrated potassium sulfate in a gaseous state kept at steady, exact, and specific temperatures in an air tight holding facility somewhere off the coast of Vancouver, Canada. Hear me roar.  
  
Chapter 8: Mysteries  
  
A/N: SORREH! For the delay! Writers block hit me midway through the chapie! *kills writer's block with kitchen sink* And then my great friend, Steven, got me hooked on Rurouni Kenshin (another WONDERFUL anime!) and THEN finals week came up!! So here I grovel, begging for forgiveness! *grovels at reader's feet* And I'm sorreh 4 doing the 'until I get 15 reviews thing'! I promise never to do that again! I shall not succumb to the dark side of the force!  
  
  
  
Kiry stood, watching the dust trail Kouga left in his wake, the others still gaping at her back. It was kinda freaky, her going all Buffy on Kouga- -who they previously hadn't thought to be scared of much--be cowed by a 5'5" brunette chick with a primitive air conditioner. . .which, granted, was a very dangerously SHARP primitive air conditioner, but still. . .  
  
Kagome was having a small wig session from behind Sango. She felt like she kept trying to press Ctrl, Alt, Delete to no avail. 'Kiry's s'posed to be from my time! Now where do you learn to fight like that in California?!?! That sounds like something you'd learn here. . .but she can't of!'  
  
Miroku, Sango, and Shippo were in the camp of 'Cool!', Sango on the side of 'Yeah, Chick Power!'. . .well, she didn't think of it as 'Chick Power' per say. . .but sommat the like. Kirara blinked from her perch on Sango's shoulder.  
  
InuYasha. . .glared. He glared at her leather clad back in pure puppy instinct and fury. 'Mine, she took MY fight! What made her think she had the right?!?!'  
  
Kiry's back muscles tensed under her jacket, relaxed, then she turned around to look at the each member of group, the expression on her face only able to be described as 'mildly amused with a dash of irritation'. She jerked her thumb back over her shoulder.  
  
"Are we going to be seeing him often, cuz I might have a spaz factor and whomp on him for real next time."  
  
0.0 Sango blinked. "Was that Japanese?"  
  
"Kiry, what was that? You-" Kagome started in on her spiel.  
  
"You took my fight." InuYasha growled. Kiry spun to the right and blinked at him in confusion.  
  
"Took. . .WHO'S fight?" She asked, confused.  
  
"Mine!" He shot forward and hauled Kiry up by the front of her jacket to his eye level. The now dangling girl bore up under such oddness well.  
  
Kagome, now officially weirded out, stomped around Sango and over to InuYasha. "InuYasha, Si-!"  
  
Kiry fixed her with a look "Don't! If you do, he'll fall on me and no thanks, I'M (special emphasis on "I'm") not the one for that. And I can take care of myself if it's all the same to you." Before Kagome could go into the death-glares and the screamings of "WHAT?!?!", Kiry latched her hands around InuYasha's wrists, yanked her body up and slammed her knee into InuYasha's chin. Light exploded. (A/N: Not literally. . .yano, like he saw light cuz she hit 'im. Get it? Good.)  
  
Once the stars cleared from InuYasha's vision, he realized that Kiry was out of his grip. The others gave her a wide berth as she walked back to the tree and yanked the other shukusen out of the trunk and snapped it shut.  
  
Kiryki turned around and gave them all a very bland look. "I'll give explanations, but ONLY if the extremely growly one will refrain from attacking me again. Okay?" Everyone nodded. . .okay, everyone but InuYasha nodded. He "Feh-ed". And looked like he would jump for Kiry's throat any minute. But he refrained. Kagome was giving him one of those 'If-you-don't- comply-I'll-sit-you-'til-doomsday-if-need-be' looks.  
  
Kiry sat down and leaned back against the tree, for all the world looking like she was at a tea party. She set the fans in her lap and crossed her arms behind her head. "You ask, I tell. Ask away."  
  
Being the only semi-sensible thing to do, they plunked down on the ground also.  
  
"Where did you learn that? That was amazing! I've never seen them used in that manner before." Sango, ever willing to find another girl-fighter, immediately asked.  
  
Kiry grinned lazily. "I live in Santa Monica. It's not a nice city in some parts. If you run around some of the beach areas I have to sometimes, ya gotta learn to defend yourself from lil boys running around thinkin' they thugs (A/N: Quick, what movie is she quoting?). I started taking classes when I was really little, the youngest age allowed to take the classes. Then I read this lesson in my history book about the noble ladies of Ancient Japan that used shukusens as defense weapons, and I thought 'Whoa, how cool would it be to learn how to use those as a primary weapon'. So, I made my own practice shukusens and developed my own way of fighting using them as projectiles and as a type of knife, or I guess, sword."  
  
She held out a fan and spread it open. It was a lovely thing, as much as it was deadly. The ribbings were made of metal, probably steal, and the fabric covering them was a bright red. Across the top, linked between the segments, were thin, strong blades that looked like they knew how to do their intended duty well.  
  
"Oyaji had these made for me a couple of years ago. He found a pyrotechnic that specialized in making odd weapons, usually for display, and he gave him a design that ended up as these in a pretty box for my birthday." She brought the fan down and smiled happily at them all.  
  
Shippo was pretty impressed. "How did you get that fan to come out of your sleeve like that?"  
  
Kiry took off her jacket and turned it partially inside out. There, on the insides of the sleeves and along the midriff were cleverly sewn sheathes that held twelve fans, one in each sleeve and five on each side of the stomach. "See, they hold them snug in these but can be slipped out."  
  
"Can I see?" Sango requested and was handed the jacket to peruse. While she examined it, the others went on.  
  
"Now why did you go and attack Koga like that? You really scared him!" Kagome said grumpily.  
  
Kiry turned and gave her cousin an exasperated look. "He insulted me, he insulted InuYasha, and he insulted you. Rather stupidly too, and I cannot stand idiots."  
  
Kagome started to open her mouth to admonish the girl. Kiry, seeing that, cut her off. "He is and he did. Why? Do you want him back here? Did you want to go with him? Do you love him like he claimed?"  
  
InuYasha tensed. Finally, someone had asked the question he always wanted to. What would Kagome say? He waited, watching the expressions on her face flicker and flash across it.  
  
Kagome blinked. The conversation had taken a disturbing turn to her. "Of course I didn't want to go with him, now or ever." She stated firmly. "I don't love him. (insert InuYasha going from slinky to limp noodle in the background) I just don't think that you should have been so rude to him. . ."  
  
'She doesn't. . .she doesn't. . .oh thank gods!' relief poured into the poor dog-boy. Today sure had been on hell of a humdinger. He surreptitiously glared at Kiry from underneath his bangs. 'And here's one of the reasons right now.'  
  
The so-called-reason slowly turned her head and looked into his golden eyes with steady lavender orbs. Suddenly InuYasha got a chill down his spine. He couldn't say what yet but this was no ordinary girl. She most definitely wasn't a demon, but his instincts told him that neither was she a normal human.  
  
Kiry snapped her eyes away from him as Sango handed her her jacket back. InuYasha glanced at Sango and noticed that she had a troubled look in her eyes, and her scent was giving off small waves of confusion. He'd have to ask her about that later, when Miss Oddity herself wasn't around.  
  
Miroku had been oddly silent during the explanations and finally decided to point out a small fact. "You guys, it's getting dark. Maybe we should make camp here and continue on in the morning."  
  
"Sounds like a good idea, Miroku. Whada ya say InuYasha, we stop for the night?" Kagome could practically already hear the 'NO!' she was sure to get, and so she was shocked when the hanyou absently said that that sounded fine.  
  
@}~~~~~~~^~~~~~~~~~  
  
'I wonder what's up with InuYasha. He's never that considerate when we say we wanna stop for the night. . .I hope nothing's wrong. . .' Kagome thought as she started unrolling her sleeping bag to sit on as she prepared the hot water for the instant ramen.  
  
Next to her, Kiry unrolled her own sleeping bag to sit on. She had gone up into Kagome's attic at the last minute and snatched it out of a corner, causing more complaining from InuYasha.  
  
After InuYasha had said yes to making camp, the girls had gone off to a nearby hot springs, leaving the boys to start a fire and with very loud and fervent commands to STAY AWAY! from the bathing girls. While splashing about in the warm water, Sango had asked how exactly Kiry was related to Kagome.  
  
"Well, her dad is my dad's brother. My mother and them had all grown up together and she was so close to Kiry's otousan that she just calls him her brother and completely skips calling him her brother-in-law." Kagome explained. Kiry grinned and nodded in agreement.  
  
"So your last name would be. . .?" Sango asked.  
  
"Higurashi, like Kagome's." Kiry had flashed her cousin a look of familial pride then.  
  
Now back at camp, Kiry sat down cross-legged on the green bag and watched Kagome's deft handlings of the camp stove. "I hope I haven't caused any major rifts because of my actions, cousin?"  
  
Kagome shot her a small look. "Of course not, Kir-chan." She leaned forward conspiratorially. "In fact, I'm kinda glad you ran Koga off. It does get annoying when he interrupts my life with his crazy insistence that I come and be his wife." She giggled. "I haven't the faintest idea were he came up with the idea that I actually loved him! He's a friend, of sorts, and always will be just that."  
  
Kiry and Kagome continued to giggle. Meanwhile, a certain white-haired oddball was eavesdropping from a convenient tree. He was so happy that Kagome had said that she had no feeling for Kouga. Of course that didn't mean HE had feelings for her, or that he had been jealous or anything, it just meant that they wouldn't have to deal with Kouga interrupting there jewel shard hunt as often now. (A/N: You just keep telling yourself that, deareh. . .)  
  
"InuYasha? Can we speak with you for a minute?" Sango and Miroku had found his perch and came up under the tree.  
  
InuYasha rolled out of the tree in a perfectly controlled drop and landed silently. 'Gotta appreciate the stealth,' he thought to himself. "What's up?" Sango had that confused look in her eyes again and Miroku had his grave face on (A/N: CUTE!).  
  
Miroku started first. "It's about Kiry. There have been several. . .inconsistencies. . .and odd occurrences about her."  
  
"What do you mean? Are you saying she's lying to us and is dangerous?!" InuYasha snapped his head to where the cousins were sitting by the camp stove, now talking about something or another.  
  
"No, not at all. It's quite obvious that she is Kagome's cousin; their looks alone say that, and you can tell Kiry cares for her. I'm just saying that there is something very strange about her that bears further scrutiny. Sango, please tell InuYasha what you've seen."  
  
Sango gave her thoughts a small frown. "When she introduced herself, she called herself Furukuri Kiry. Kagome said that they are related through her father by Kiry's father and when I asked her later, she said her last name was Higurashi." InuYasha took his famous pose of standing straight and still with his hands in his sleeves, looking darkly thoughtful.  
  
Sango continued when InuYasha didn't say anything. "Also, her jacket. Those fans were stuck in there pretty firmly. I had to give them a real good tug to get them to budge. There's just no way she could have just thrown down her arm and poof! there's a fan."  
  
"At the same time she did that, InuYasha, I felt a tingle of an aura come from her. It was gone so fast I thought I imagined it. . .but now hearing Sango's suspicions, I feel that maybe I didn't. Plus, there's that whole thing with the you and Shippo not being able to discern a scent off of her." Miroku said, leaning on his staff. "What do you think we should do?"  
  
InuYasha stood and brooded (A/N: I just LOVE the look on his face when Inu- chan gets lost in thought. . .maybe it's unfamiliar territory and needs extra concentration, ne?). Finally he raised his head and looked at his friends. "We'll wait to say anything. If we mention this without proof, Kagome will just get mad and we'll lose our chance of finding out more about Kiry. There's no way she can hurt Kagome with us around; we won't let her if that be her intention."  
  
@}~~~~~^~~~~~~~~~~  
  
InuYasha sat on a tree branch directly above the sleeping figures below. He had kept a surreptitious watch on Kiry the whole time she was awake and now he checked on her from time to time as she slept. Most of the time he watched Kagome, as usual. He just loved to see her face, so peaceful and sweet, with all the stress and the worry of the day gone.  
  
A slight breeze drifted through the air, making the campfire Miroku had built flicker and dance. It also brought with it the smell of salt water. . .wait, salt? Tears?  
  
InuYasha looked down and searched the faces of his companions. His eyes came to rest on Kiry's face. Sure enough, in her sleep, tears were streaming down her face in sparkling rivers. The girl turned on her side and nuzzled her head into her pillow, as if to seek comfort in it.  
  
InuYasha wondered what 'demons' haunted her sleep. 'What is this girl? And what is her sorrow that it haunts her sleep?'  
  
As the inu-youkai pondered these thoughts, his long and confusing day caught up with him, and he drifted off into sleep.  
  
  
  
A/N: There! See, I promised those of you who were about to kill me that I would have this chapie out by my birthday, which is on the 24th! *does a Happy Birthday HamsterDance* I'll try to be more prompt about the next couple of chapies. I didn't have this one all planned out in my head like I have the next couple of ones so it took me a lil while. Again with the groveling. Okay, I have a problem that I need help with. Should I keep this fic at PG-13, or should I change it to R, b/c there's gonna be "violence, strong language, adult content" (Quoting from BtVS, btw.). There will NOT be any lemon in this storeh; I can read 'em, but I won't write 'em. Just violence. So tell me what u think I should do, pleaze.  
  
Emerald ~~ *laughs ass off* Glad I got u hooked! XO! *wavies!*  
  
Violet ~~ Okay, here ya go! ^.~  
  
Holly Morris ~~ Hey gurly! Finally decided to read it again huh? Thanx 4 ur support every day. Couldn't do w/o it!  
  
Sageheart86 ~~ Glad u liked the title! Took me a good part of 5 minutes to come up with that one! Hehehe!  
  
Tana ~~ I have a meeting with her an Sesshomaru all planned out for later in the storeh! Just u wait, it's realleh gonna be something! *chuckles evilly to self*  
  
Silver Trumpet, aka Black Wolf ~~ I blame u! Even as I'm typing this note to u, the lil IM signal is flashing at me! And again! Hehehe! Love ya sis!  
  
Ja ne! ^.~ Aelii-chan 


	9. Battle Cry

Disclaimer: Well, for my Birthday, I told my dad that I wanted the rights to InuYasha. He got me the InuYasha movie, but no rights. Curses, foiled again. Also, I hold no rights to Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Star Wars and whoever does is a very lucky individual. And sux!  
  
Family Secrets  
  
By: Aelinwen Elentari  
  
Chapter 9: Battle Cry  
  
[. . .]= A/N  
  
*. . .*= Actions in speech, such as coughing, giggling, sticking out tongue, etc, etc, etc.  
  
". . ."= Dialogue  
  
'. . .'= Mental Comments [oh aren't these fun!]  
  
More to come..  
  
InuYasha was awoken to the sounds of someone rustling in their sleeping bag. He snapped his eyes open and gazed down at the camp site. Kiry was sitting up and yawning like a cat. She blinked her eyes a few times, looked around, and then looked up at the dog-demon perched on the tree branch above her.  
  
"Ohayo, InuYasha." She smiled sleepily up at him, apparently none of the worse for her midnight tears.  
  
"What are you doing up this early? The other's won't be up for at least a half an hour. Keh, lazy humans. . .not that Shippo and Kirara are any better." He snorted.  
  
She rubbed the bridge of her nose, then her eyes. "You really are a pill all of the time, aren't you? I'm getting up because my body has an annoying little internal alarm clock in my head that tells me to get up at this time of morning to stretch, bathe, and eat breakfast."  
  
Blink, blink. "What's an alarm clock?"  
  
"A god-forsaken instrument that wakes you up in the morning with a sound heard only in the depths of hell." She muttered.  
  
Kiry crawled out of her sleeping bag and stood, stretching her arms over her head. As she walked towards the hot springs with a towel and clothes, swinging a small cosmetics bag from one hand, InuYasha whispered, "Wow. That has got to be the most horrible thing to have stuck in your head. Almost feel sorry for the girl."  
  
@}~~~~~~~^~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Clank. Clank, clank. Sizzle. "OW! Crap! How the heck does she work this dratted thing?!"  
  
'Oh brother. . .and here I thought that Kiry was gonna make InuYasha let us sleep in. Instead, she's the one waking us up. . .' Kagome sat up with her usual abruptness.  
  
"Kir-Kir, didja have to wake us up so early?" she mumbled.  
  
Kiry looked up from nursing her burnt fingers. "Oh hallelujah! You're awake! You cook breakfast. This thing is evil! It's attacked me!"  
  
"What? InuYasha?" Kagome blinked at her cousin, not quite awake yet.  
  
"Gee thanks." said the hanyou from across the camp fire. "Glad to know what category you've stuck me in."  
  
"Not InuYasha! InuYasha's don't nothing but sit and grump at me for the last fifteen minutes. What I'm talking about is that!" the older girl yelled and pointed.  
  
'That' was the camp stove, which was boiling water innocently enough.  
  
"Oh. The stove." Kagome looked at InuYasha. "Sorry, InuYasha. It's just that when somebody *yawn* is complaining about an unidentifiable object, it's usually you."  
  
"Hmph!" He jumped off and stalked off.  
  
"Um, Kagome?" came Miroku's voice. "What's going on?"  
  
The girls turned to meet the newly awakened gazes of her three very confused friends. "Er. . .well. . .I think that Kiry is. . .that is. . .what ARE you doing?"  
  
"I was ATTEMPING to make breakfast for everyone before they woke up." She crossed her arms and glared at the camp stove. "But that thing and I aren't getting along very well." She looked at her cousin. "Is it supposed to shoot out flames?"  
  
Kagome sweatdropped. "Er. . .no, not really. I'll take care of it Kiry, you just. . ." Kagome was going to say 'get dressed' when she realized that Kiry already was. Baggy army green cargo pants with, yes, ten pockets for her shukusens. An army green tank top; combat boots; two shukusens in black leather sheathes, closed, at her hips; hair in a messy bun with green lensed sunglasses perched on top of her head, oh yeah, she was ready infiltrate Vietnam. . .or go to a rock concert.  
  
Kagome rolled her eyes and gave a pointed look at her itoko's attire. "Planning on beating anyone up today?" she asked.  
  
"Etoo. . .well, InuYasha said we're about a half hours walk away from the lizard youkai's camp. He said sommat about probably having to do some grunt work to get the rumored shard from them. So, hence, the outfit. Besides, I like this one." Kiry said defensively.  
  
"That close?!" Sango asked. The exterminator got out of her bed roll and grabbed her things, scrambling for the hot springs.  
  
"I'll make sure HE stays here, n'kay?!" Kiry called after Sango's back.  
  
"Thanks!" was yelled back at her.  
  
"Hey, I resent that remark!" the HE, of their conversation said. [Please tell me you understood who.]  
  
"Yeah, you also resemble it, monk." The chick muttered, giving up on the stove and scooted over to make room for Kagome.  
  
"She is right you know, Miroku. You do have a problem with girls." Shippo said. The little fox scrambled up from his place on Kagome's sleeping bag and bounced into Kiry's lap, where he was immediately rewarded with a willing hand to pet his tail.  
  
Miroku coughed into his hand and got up to join the girls and the kitsune in breakfast, which Kagome had been preparing. Thanking Kagome as she handed him his cup of ramen, Miroku looked at Kiry. "A half hours walk he said?"  
  
"Yeah, and then muttered about how bad they smelled. Poor boy, must be a curse to have that nose of his sometimes." Kiry commented thoughtfully.  
  
"Oh you should have seen him this time we had to fight this painter for his shard of the Shikon no Tama. He got covered in ink after a fight with one of the artist's demons that he summoned from his drawings and InuYasha got sooooo dizzy from the smell of it. So, yeah, it can be a problem for him." Kagome started munching down on her bowl of ramen.  
  
"Not that I'd trade it for one of your noses. Can't smell what's not right under your nose with those things." Came InuYasha's voice from behind them. The inu-youkai had come up from behind them unnoticed. . .or rather, he had been eavesdropping, again, and finally decided to say something.  
  
"Is there ever a time in which you DON'T eavesdrop on us?" Kiry turned around and gave him a glare, which was returned. "Well, what's the sitch? Are we talking peace treaty or ambush tactics?"  
  
InuYasha cracked his knuckles in that one handed way he does. "I was thinking we go in and when they attack us, I take all the demons out, then Kagome picks up the shards then we walk back to Old Kaede's." He looked pretty darn pleased with his use of strategy.  
  
"Oh yeah, great plan." Of course Kiry's sarcasm would be there to step on his incredibly enlarged male ego. "Jeez, slow your jets, John Wayne. What if they don't attack us? And then you just.what? Go homicidal hack-job on them? They could just give us the shards." Kiry had this oh-so-bland look on her face.  
  
InuYasha glared at her, shoving his hands into the sleeves of his haori. "They're demons! They aren't nice. They don't just hand over Shikon shards if you ask sweetly enough. In fact it's a guarantied way to get yourself killed, eaten, or made into a play toy."  
  
Kagome gasped. "InuYasha, don't be so crude!"  
  
"She's got to except the truth about this world if she wants to be here," InuYasha looked over at his [*Coughgirlcough*] friend. "Things aren't nice here like they are in your world, Kagome. And you know that from experience. She doesn't, and I'm just trying to teach her that." He looked back at the strangely silent brunette.  
  
'About time she shut her mouth. She's not like Shippo's incessant rambling but. . .well, at least she's done nothing strange today.' He blinked, realizing that he had been glare/staring at her for about thirty seconds. The others had stopped eating to see what the big deal was about.  
  
"Um ah, InuYasha? You okay? I think Kiry got the point." Kagome asked. InuYasha seemed to snap out of a trance. He just nodded at her and sat down, immediately starting to devour a bowl of instant ramen. The others shrugged and joined him in the evaporation of the yummy noodles.  
  
'What's up with InuYasha? He was acting so weird last night. Always watching Kir-chan out of the corner of his eye. . .he's not. . .attracted to her is he?' she was dismayed by the feelings of anger, hurt, and frustration that swamped her at that thought.  
  
InuYasha was surprised when he smelled anger waves wafting from Kagome. He paused, chopsticks halfway in his mouth. "Ka'omeh, whu's wong?"  
  
Kagome snapped her head up to look into his amber eyes. Only curiosity, a bit of concern, and confusion flickered in their depths. No hints of feelings for her cousin. . .or her for that matter. She smiled with false brightness, closing her eyes.  
  
"Nothing's wrong InuYasha! Don't be silly!" She said, waving her hand at him. Kagome busied herself with her ramen as if her life depended on it.  
  
InuYasha didn't believe her for a second. His nose never lead him wrong before. And he couldn't imagine why she would be so. . .dodgy with HIM of all people. [Oh no, never with him. . .] But, she obviously wasn't going to be pouring out her heart to him anytime soon, he decided to finish his food. And ignore the pangs that came from his heart.  
  
And forgotten purple eyes watched and said nothing.  
  
@}~~~~~~^~~~~~~~~~  
  
The InuYasha-gumi was crouched in the bushes atop the cliff that overlooked the lizard-youkai's campsite. The silent observers watched the reptilian demons lounge about in the sun, examining the loot from the town they had recently raided.  
  
They were not pretty demons, unlike some. Kinda like smaller versions of Iguanadons, with dull colors of all shades smeared in blotches on their pebbly skin. Small beady eyes set in wedge shaped heads glittered as the youkais displayed sharp teeth in raucous laughter brought on by ale kegs placed all around the camp. On the whole, it looked like there was about ten of the monstrosities lounging about.  
  
"Kagome, sense any shards?" InuYasha spoke in a hushed voice. Lizard youkai don't have great hearing, he had told the others, but still, keep it down.  
  
Kagome perused the group of reptiles, checking for points of pink light in her vision. She could see one in the forehead of that tall green one, two in the red one that looked to be the leader, and a couple others sprinkled among the creatures. She quietly pointed them out to InuYasha, Sango, and Miroku. Kiry listened from her spot next to Shippo.  
  
"Okay, now what?" whispered Kiry. She hadn't brought up what they were going to do once they got there again during the trek, but now that they were there it sounded like it might be a good idea to discuss a strategy.  
  
InuYasha blinked a few times. He hadn't really counted on the lizards not spotting them and attacking them first. 'Okay, Plan B. . .' he thought.  
  
"I guess it's time to go down and start a fight." He cracked his knuckles and started to get up. Kiry gripped his shoulder and pushed him back down.  
  
"Lemme see how far I can get with diplomacy. If nothing comes of that, then you can go into the 'aggressive negotiations' okies?" Without waiting for an affirmative, she jumped up and started running down the incline, throwing up dust and gravel as she slid.  
  
"No! Kiry!" Kagome hissed after her cousin. "What does she think she's doing?!" Her cousin's rashness had her astounded. And as much as Kiry said she was a good fighter, Kagome doubted that she could stand against demons like Sango and Miroku could. And they weren't reckless enough to walk-- okay, jump--into an entire group of them.  
  
The lizards looked up as Kiry landed at the boarders of their camp and brushed herself off. They could tell that this was a human busting in on them, and each smiled mentally to themselves. This slip of a girl would be no trouble.  
  
"Hey, you guys got a leader 'round here? I was wondering if I might have a word with him or her." She called out, seemingly oblivious to the hungry looks the freaks were giving her.  
  
A creepy looking blue one with spiky eye ridges grinned maliciously at her. "We have a leader" he hissed, sliding his tongue in and out of his mouth as he spoke. "He'ssss right thhhhhere. Sssspeak withhh him, if you wisssshhhhh" He pointed at the red youkai with the spiky armor.  
  
As Kiry nodded her head in mock-thanks and continued on her path to the head honcho, Kagome was busy nibbling on her nails. SO far Kiry hadn't been eaten. . .but she didn't like the looks they were giving her cousin. It brought back memories of Hiten and Manten and her almost demise by the cook- pot.  
  
"Is she. . .uh. . .suicidal?" asked Miroku. He crouched, leaned low on his staff and peered through the foliage. The green clad figure was sashaying right through the middle of an area filled with creatures that could be her very quick demise, and all she was doing was looking around the clustered tents like she was on a bloody tour!  
  
Kagome thought about that one for a second. "Anou. . .I don't. . .think so. I couldn't say. I just met her a few days ago, but. . .she seems okay and relatively sane." Then she added as an afterthought, "Did I say 'relatively'?"  
  
"Kiry's gonna die!" Shippo whisper/wailed. To which InuYasha clamped a hand around his mouth and hissed at him to keep his big trap shut, lest the fox find himself in the stewpot of those scaly freaks.  
  
By this time Kiry had reached the chieftain's tent. The crimson monster leered at her. It wasn't every day that a yummy morsel just meandered into their camp and practically ASKED to get eaten. On the other hand. . .she was pretty cute. For a human of course. Might be fun to keep her for a while. At least till they had completed their mission.  
  
The so called 'morsel' grinned amiably enough at the reptile. "I'm on a quest. I'm looking for shards from the Sacred Jewel. I heard that a group of lizard-youkai was rumored to hold some of these shards." She pushed her glasses up and peered up at the demon through her eyelashes.  
  
"Then you heard correctly, my dear. I am Deloth, leader of the Southern lizard-youkai. This is my clan." He waved his hand around at his now gathered hordes, all the while thinking, 'This is going to be a piece of cake.'  
  
"Pleasure." Kiry's voice was droll, with a bordering tinge of sarcasm. "Kiry is my name. I was wondering if you would please give me the shards, so that I might complete my quest."  
  
The reptile's face took on an especially malevolent glow. "Kiry you said? And we are to just give up prizes such as that because you asked nicely and flitted your eyelashes at us. No, my pretty, no." He grinned disturbingly and took a step towards her.  
  
Kiry sighed and rubbed her forehead with her right hand. "Now, I realleh didn't want to fight all of you. But. . ." she shrugged eloquently.  
  
The youkais started to advance in a circle around her. InuYasha tensed to spring and draw his sword.  
  
"Okay, now look. We can do this the hard way or. . .well actually, there's just the hard way." Her hands moved to hover over her waist sheaths, tensed and ready to draw.  
  
InuYasha rolled his eyes. "Oh enough! HYAA!" He sprang into the air, drawing the Testusegai in a flash of light. Dropping next to the girl, he slashed down a youkai that had gotten closest to Kiry. 'Nine more to go,' he thought with a smirk.  
  
Kiry took the moment the stunned reptiles gave her when the dog-demon had leaped out of nowhere to join her, to slide her shukusens out of their sheaths and snap them open. She spun around to put her back at InuYasha's.  
  
Sango and Miroku also moved. The youkai-huntress jumped on a now transformed Kirara. Grabbing the houshi's hand, she swung him up behind her, swatting at his hands when they drifted a little to low for her comfort.  
  
Kirara leapt forward, bounded down the hill in two quick leaps, and landed solidly, growling and showing feral teeth. Miroku slipped off and planted himself firmly, brandishing his staff at the now hissing demons. Sango raised her boomerang threateningly.  
  
Kagome set an arrow to the string of her bow, ready to pull back and let it fly at a moment's notice. Shippo shivered but looked determined.  
  
Seconds passed. They stood, waiting for the other to make the first move. And waited.  
  
Kiry lowered her weapons in frustration. "Oh hell, I'll go!" She whacked her sunglasses down to the bridge of her nose. Leaping for the nearest youkai, Kiry yelled a battle challenge. The burnished orange reptile drew his sword and swung it at her, hissing. At the last second, the girl dropped and spun under the blade as it whistled over her head. Shooting out her foot, she connected with her opponent's kneecap and shattered it. As the lizard fell towards her, screaming in pain, the nigen rolled to her back and flipped him over her head with her feet.  
  
InuYasha ducked as the pile of leathery skin and bones whipped past his head to collide with the demon behind him. He turned and growled at the girl who was now scrambling to her feet. "Would you watch where you're tossing them please!" he yelled.  
  
"Sorry, Yasha!" She grinned impertinently at him, and then he lost sight of her as the battle rolled into full swing. He was kept busy with two youkai armed to the teeth.  
  
@}~~~~~^~~~~~~~~  
  
Kagome watched as the battle raged. Miroku was busy in a staff battle, not being able to use the Kazaana with his friends so close, and Sango was playing tag-team with Kirara on three youkai's of her own.  
  
Kiry was tossing opponents left and right like pro. Those fans of hers must have been as strong as she boasted, because as she dealt with a lizard wielding a giant sword, the shukusens didn't give an inch under the weight as it came crashing down.  
  
InuYasha was. . .well, being InuYasha: kicking butt, taking names. He had just managed to cut the arm off of Deloth, throwing him into the bushes in the process. As he spun around to find another opponent, he realized that he had run out of demons to fight. The others had dispatched theirs in good time, noting where the jewel shards fell so that Kagome could pick them up when the area was clear.  
  
Kiry turned to grin up at Kagome from her place across the clearing. "Hey Kagome-chan, it's okay to come down now. We got sparkly things we need you to pick up, or so Sango says."  
  
Kagome waved her bow at her cousin and shoved the unused arrow back in her quiver. Shippo jumped on her back as she started her decent down the hill.  
  
InuYasha sheathed the Tetsuseiga and came to stand by Kagome with a cocky look on his face. "Keh, those scaly freaks weren't half as much trouble as they kept saying they were. Of course, every time they'd boast, I'd finish them off, so if was kinda comical." He grinned.  
  
A rustle in the bushes had them jumping on the alert again. Deloth came out of the woods just behind Kiry, holding what was left of his bleeding arm. Kiry raised her weapons, threatening wordlessly. The lizard started to laugh, startling them all.  
  
"I'm not going to fight with you again. I just came back to deliver a message." Deloth murmured.  
  
"Well let's hear it then!" InuYasha yelled at him.  
  
"Oh, it's not for you puppy," the reptile smiled at the shocked look on the inu-youkai's face. He turned to Kiry. "It's for the little miss. He wants to know. . .if you miss him. He wants to know if you find it difficult to sleep at night without him by your side."  
  
Kiry's eyes widened in horrified pain. She started to shake. Suddenly, fury flashed in her eyes, She spun backwards and back-slashed his other arm off. Dropping to the ground, she kicked his feet out from under him, knocking him on his back.  
  
She swooped down and knelt on his chest. "Where is he?!" she yelled. "Where is he?!?!" She pushed her shukusen up again his throat.  
  
"M'lady, I don't know. But he also said he was going to come for YOU soon, too. Then you can join that worthless lover of yours!" He spat the words in her face.  
  
Kiry slowly rose from her spot on his torso. She looked down on him, fists balled at her sides.  
  
InuYasha could fell the air changing around him. It was building, pressing against his ears. His head would surly pop soon if it didn't stop. The pressure gained, and gained, and suddenly broke!  
  
An aura flamed around Kiry visibly. It rippled the air with it's fury, causing Miroku to gasp in shock.  
  
The girl raised her arms to face her palms to the prone Deloth. White and purple flame, the essence of light and power, flared out from them, consuming him. The youkai gave a shriek of pain and terror. And then was silent, no longer in the land of the living, his body disintegrated. The jewel shards he possessed clinked to the ground.  
  
Kagome and the others gave out a yelp of shock. 'What the. . .?!?!' Kagome's mind screamed.  
  
Kiry dropped to her knees. She looked into the air, wilted like a popped balloon, her face desolate.  
  
"Come out and fight me you bastard! Naraku!" She screamed into the air. The words fell into the stillness, no answer. "You took him away and now you taunt me?! I won't fall! I won't!"  
  
As the silent observers looked on in astonishment, not knowing what to say or do, silvery tears poured from her eyes, the glasses dropped or knocked off at some point in time during the fight. She collapsed to the ground, wracked in sobs, body trembling, and crying for all the world as if her heart were rent in two and as if her pain were eternal.  
  
A/N: Whoo! *wipes forehead* That took meh a looong time to write. I can onleh say one thing about that cliffie: MWAHAHAHAHA! *ducks random objects thrown by readers* HA, missed!  
  
Okay, to muh buds, I have been banned from muh one computer with Internet access and that's why I haven't been on these last coupla weeks. Blame muh dad. I'm up-loading this from muh mom's work comp, so thankies for her, otherwise you'd niver get this chapie. I'm not going to do individual thanx this time cuz I'm sure you realleh want this now, meh being Miz Late about this, but I will next time. But hey, for once (yeah, ONCE) it wasn't my fault.  
  
Okay, now everyone, push the lil blue button in the left bottom corner *points*, yeah that one! And pleaze sent meh a review. The keep sessha wanting to write for all you loveleh peoplez! And I know some of you are reading and not writing, cuz sometimez I do the same thang. #^.^#! Hehehe!  
  
So love and hugs! Happy Belated Saint Valentine's Day! XOXOXO! May all of you have received a sommat from your special someone! *blushie-blushie!* I did!  
  
^.^ Aelii-chan  
  
PS: Asherz, Beckie, Kat, BaWolfie: XO! Hi-yo's and I MISS YOU!!!!!!! 


	10. The Worst Thing

Disclaimer: If I owned InuYasha would I be taking time out of my busy schedule of organizing our little hanyou's life to write FANfiction. No? Thank you for seeing that. Because the lawyer knocking on my door doesn't. Make him go away!!!! AHHHHH!!!!  
  
Family Secrets  
  
By: Aelinwen Elentari  
  
Chapter 10: The Worst Thing  
  
Translations: (should have done these a while ago, ne?)  
  
Musume-chan~little daughter, little girl/friend  
  
Otousan/tousan~father/daddy  
  
Okaasan/kaasan~mother/mommy  
  
itoko~cousin  
  
Kokoro Chikara~Soul Mage (literally Spirit Power)  
  
When Kiry had reacted so violently at first to Deloth's statement, Kagome had edged over to InuYasha's side, but when Kiry had lit the clearing with the brilliant light from her hands, Kagome had leaped into InuYasha's arms. It was a reflex, the safest place she knew to be when bad things were happening. She couldn't remember when she had first realized that . . .it had been so long ago and so natural to do when she did, that she had never really thought about it. Besides, InuYasha had never seemed to mind.  
  
Therefore, here she was, wrapped in the hanyou's warm embrace, watching as her cousin crumpled to the ground like a rag doll, thrown away as an unwanted object would be. The sobs of misery and anguish tore at Kagome's heart, but she couldn't figure out if she wanted to go to Kiry or not. She looked at her companions and friends for some hint of what she should do.  
  
InuYasha was watching the prone girl with suspicion and a predatory watchful air. He held Kagome in a protective grip, her head tucked under his chin, but ready to push her behind him if need be at any second.  
  
Sango sat on Kirara, Haraikostu strapped on her back again. It was a good thing that the feline was underneath her, because she wasn't certain that her feet would have held her up if she had tried to stand. The idea of someone besides Kagome from her time having power of any sort-Kiry least of all-had never occurred to the demon exterminator.  
  
Shippo, Kagome couldn't see, but she could feel his slight body trembling against her leg. Small paw-like hands wrapped around her ankle to hold on tight, hoping for reassurance from his surrogate mother/sister.  
  
Miroku-it was the strangest thing-was staring at her with a reverence and surprise never before seen on his face at any time past. He murmured something inaudibly to himself. InuYasha snapped his head towards the monk. "What was that, bozu?"  
  
"She . . .she's . . .she's a Kokoro Chikara. A . . .a Soul Mage." The hoshi was obviously trying to get a hold of himself, failing, but trying.  
  
"And that would be . . .?" InuYasha was obviously as clueless as Kagome on what that might be, and a glance at Sango added her to that group.  
  
Miroku turned to look at him. "They're . . .they're so rare, hardly thought to even be alive these days. To know one-and of such power!" He looked at the blank stares his friends were giving him. "I'm sorry, I'm just having so much trouble attempting to explain the Chikara. I know so little about them . . .I think she's going to have to explain it herself." He shrugged helplessly.  
  
"I will." They looked over at the so-called Chikara. She had sat up, slowly wiping tear trails from her dirt smudged face. Her slight frame drooped with a weariness that came of long held pain. "I'll tell you it all." She sighed, and slowly raised a hand, palm up, in front of her. She looked down at it. "Guess I don't need this anymore." She flipped her hand over and rubbed her fingers against each other, like she was brushing off dust. The inch long crystal teardrop at her throat started to glow with a faint pale green light.  
  
InuYasha's head rose alertly. He sniffed and took a step forward, releasing Kagome from his embrace as he did so. Smells. He could detect all sorts of scents coming from her-FINALLY! A waft of green tea, the tangy smell of sweat, the salty flow of tears still clung to her; sorrow was as potent as perfume, and. . . his golden eyes widened. She was so young! She shouldn't have THAT scent! Though. . .he slanted a sideways look at Kagome from underneath the cover of his bangs. . .if SHE had that scent on her-at her age, or ever-it had better be his, tailor made.  
  
"Kiry. . .what's going on?" Kagome walked hesitantly to her cousin, who turned her head to the ground, unable to meet Kagome's eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I should have told you. I just didn't know how. . ." Kiry was surprised when Kagome knelt in front of her. The raven-haired girl placed her hand on the tear marred cheeks, wiping away another that had slipped down to make another trail in the dirt, testament to her sorrow. Violet eyes looked up hopefully into comforting blue-gray ones.  
  
"It's okay. It's going to be okay-" Kagome started.  
  
"No! It's not okay!" Kiry cried out and fisted her fingers in her hair, yanking it from its bun in the process. The golden brown hair tumbled about her face, and she shoved at it impatiently. "Because. . .because he's gone. And I can't do anything to save him!"  
  
"Who's HE?" Sango asked, trying to at least get that cleared. Kiry looked up at her and opened her mouth to answer the girl. But InuYasha knew.  
  
"Your mate." he said in a low voice.  
  
Kiry looked levelly at him as the widened eyes of the others did the same, before snapping them back at her for confirmation. She slowly nodded her head.  
  
"Yes, my mate. . .my life. . .my love. He's gone. And it's all Naraku's fault." She slowly shook her head, oblivious to the pole-axed looks the others were giving her. "He has hurt so many. . ." She looked up at them. She grinned at their faces, in spite of the way she felt, which was basically as if a MacTruck had turned her into a parking spot.  
  
To put it in the most accurate description possible: their jaws had dropped to grace the floor, tongues rolled out like red carpets awaiting royalty, eyes bulged in their sockets, and distinct sounds resembling 'AWOOGA!' were emitting from said mouths. In English: 'Aliens had come for tea and scones and had accidentally landed in the missus's prize rose garden' would have shocked them less.  
  
The others finally caught a grip on her grin and glanced around at each other. The stunned faces were enough to set the others smiling sheepishly, then grinning themselves, and finally chuckling helplessly.  
  
"I'll explain, I'll explain. But. . .um. . .can we go somewhere else? I'd rather not talk about anything.here." Kiry gestured around her at the bodies that lay in disorganized heaps.  
  
Everyone agreed with her and Kagome picked up the shards, which turned pure at the merest touch. They picked up themselves and any dropped weaponry and started a trek up the hill.  
  
@}~~~~~~~^~~~~~~~~  
  
Miroku grumbled under his breath as he tried to light the 'stupid confounded gods forsaken' fire. Apparently it had rained there in the last couple of days and the wood was wet everywhere he looked. So, here he was, attempting to use one of Kagome-sama's 'lighters' to set the sopping pile of wood a-blaze and mentally cussing the wet into the seventh level of hell. Maybe then he could get a bloody fire started; it might be drier after a trip to hell, maybe even set on fire.  
  
He felt eyes on his back and looked up into the amused face of Kiry. She said nothing, just kept watching. Miroku's eye developed a twitch. "May I help you?" he asked, somewhat politely. She didn't say anything, but the amused look in her eyes grew ten fold. "Care to lend a hand?" He gestured at the damp wood.  
  
Kiry transferred her look from him to the sticks. They burst into flame with such a vengeance that Miroku flung himself backward to escape his robes being incinerated. "HOLY SHIT!" the monk yelped.  
  
Kagome heard, but she really didn't believe it when Miroku swore. She turned from unrolling the blankets and sleeping bags to stare at her friend. "Miroku!" Kagome scolded. Then she saw the cheerily snapping fire and her cousin adding more wood on the blaze. "Oh good! You got the fire started!" She turned before she could see Miroku's exasperated look and glanced at her cousin. . .who was looking almost suspiciously innocent about something. She shrugged it off. "Kiry, are you. . .ready to tell us?"  
  
Everyone gathered around the campfire, which was somehow burning the still sopping wood, and sat down. Kagome sat next to Kiry incase she needed moral support.  
  
"I'm ready. Just please don't interrupt me, cuz I may not have the will to continue if I stop at some point." At their nodded consent, the weary girl started her tale as she focused on the flames dancing before her eyes.  
  
@}~~~~~~^~~~~~~~  
  
Kiry had been born on July 13 a perfectly perfect baby. She grew up as normal as a person of her state of mind can [meaning: she's crazy, but she's not insane. Yanno?], and took a keen interest in martial arts.  
  
But when she hit the age of 11, everything changed. She started to hear things, people's voices, inside her head. It took her a while to figure out that what she was really hearing wasn't the signs of her going insane at last, but what people were thinking. They drove her crazy. She didn't want to know everyone's dirty secrets, especially not her friends'. She didn't tell anyone: she was convinced that the second she mentioned it, she'd get sent on an all expenses paid trip to the rubber room. She kept it inside, feeling like she was losing sight of herself in all the people crammed in her head.  
  
She couldn't keep her secret for long though. Soon after her 12th birthday, her secret burst out in the most unlikely way imaginable and she did the unthinkable.  
  
Kiry had been making breakfast one Thursday morning. It had been a highly stressful week, what with a math test, a kempo match tomorrow, and now breakfast to cook every morning; she was now nearing the end of her rope. She was almost done with breakfast, her dad was fumbling with his tie in the reflection of the hallway mirror, and her mother was scooping up things to shove in her briefcase.  
  
But, the toast decided that her life wasn't hectic enough and went and burned itself. Or, rather, the toaster oven had a tizzy fit and rebelled.  
  
Kiry felt cold anger wash over her. She was mad, madder than she had ever been before at anything. And this time, she didn't push away the tingly feelings of fury. She let them in for once.  
  
When she had been a child, she'd had tantrums, like all other kids, right? But even at the young age of four, she'd realized that there was something not quite right about hers. So, she stopped having the fits. She might be mad at something or someone, but she didn't show it with anger.  
  
But today was different. Today was 12 years of keeping her temper in check built up. And she was tired of it, to no end.  
  
She stared at that toaster, the embodiment of evil in her mind, and uttered one word: "Die."  
  
The toaster exploded in a flash of purple light.  
  
When the plaster dust settled and the smoke cleared Kiry pushed herself up off of the floor where she had be thrown, and looked around. There was. . .a hole. . .in the wall. The toaster was gone, fried into nothing.  
  
She shook with horror and started to cry in a big panicky wave. 'What had she done?' her mind screamed at her. She was shocked when she felt her mother's arms about her.  
  
"I think we need to tell you something, sweetie." Her okaasan murmured in her ear.  
  
After sitting her down in a comfy chair, giving her a glass of Diet-Pepsi and a box of Kleenex, they told her about her heritage. Way back in her family on her mother's side, there had been several people of great power, called Kokoro Chikara, or Soul Mages. They had the ability do things, like hear minds, *grin* blow up toasters, and heal bodies and minds. But, sadly, that talent had disappeared from the bloodline over two centuries ago, and passed out of all knowledge in the world, save for the stories passed down through the generations.  
  
Kiry didn't know what to do. It seemed that she was one of these 'Chikara', but now what? If she ever got angry again, she could end up hurting someone on accident. And that thought scared her spitless. Fortunately, her father had a solution: the Bone-Eater's Well. [Gasp! Shock! Dun-Dun-Dun!]  
  
Jumpei, her tousan, had been a bit of a snoop when he was kid, and snuck into the Well House one day. Otousan had crawled on top of the well lid cover and it broke, sending him crashing into the past. He had wandered around for a little while, looking around, and came upon Kaede's village. The young boy saw and heard enough to figure out where-or more appropriately, WHEN-he was, he decided that scramming was a great idea. He ran back to the well as quick as he could and hopped in, hoping that somehow it would take him home.  
  
It did. He never told anyone when he had been, figuring accurately that they wouldn't believe him. The well was boarded up again and the incident was forgotten. But now the memory of that past time, 40 years ago, might be just what Kiry needed to learn to control her powers. The girl was sure that then and there was where she could find help. Her resolve to go set that day.  
  
Oddly enough, her parents agreed with her. They knew their daughter could take care of herself, and could whoop the tush of some black belts even at her young age with the help of her shukusens. So anything she might meet that could give her trouble, she could most likely take care of.  
  
So, one night, when Kagome and the family were out at Disneyland Tokyo for an overnight trip, Jumpei and Kiry went to the Well House and pried the boards of the top. Kiry was going alone. Someone need to stay to board up the well again and her father was needed at home more than she needed him with her.  
  
They said good bye, and then she jumped, not to return till she had found herself again.  
  
As predictability goes, she immediately got lost in the forest upon her exodus of the well. And she wandered all that day, not seeing nary a soul, just trees, a few rabbits, no youkai. She wondered if maybe this was all just a big mistake, that, yeah, maybe she was in the feudal era. . .but where were all the people? Where was anyone she could ask for help? Little did she know she had gone in the opposite direction of the village her father saw.  
  
As she slipped off to sleep under the canopy of a large tree (not the Go- shinboku) she whispered, "Help. Let me find help." She never knew why she sent that quite plea into the darkness that night, but that turned out to be what saved her.  
  
When she awoke the next morning, her tree was gone, and she was in an area she knew she couldn't have sleep-walked to in one night. The mountains were different, for one, and for two, there was a glittering ethereal blue wall between two trees in front of her. Toto, they most certainly were not in Tokyo anymore. The sleep bemused girl blinked a few times at the translucent apparatus, trying to figure out what it was. Somehow it never occurred to her that it might mean trouble. It just seemed. . .friendly, you might say.  
  
Well, common sense not being so common anymore, she decided to touch it. It rippled over her fingers for a few seconds, then the whole thing vanished. The poor girl was so tired, what from jet-lag, walking all day in a forest and not getting anywhere, and sleeping on the ground, she just accepted it without question and walked through.  
  
Along the slightly worn path throughout the forest she walked, till she came to a small cluster of buildings. There was a small group of. . .she supposed she could call them people-though one of them had dog-ears popping out of the top of her head, along with sharp fang-like teeth and a fluffy black tail-that appeared to be waiting for something or someone at the end of the path before it came to a halt in the village center. They were human looking enough-though one of them had dog-ears popping out of the top of her head, along with sharp fang-like teeth and a fluffy black tail-despite the slight humming she could feel in the air as she hesitantly walked closer.  
  
"Hello," she swallowed "I'm looking for someone that can help me. . ." Kiry trailed of as one of them, a tall, willowy, aged woman, came forward to her. The lady put out a hand under Kiry's chin and raised the now shaking girl's head to look her in the eyes. The cool, light gray eyes that stared into her lavender ones regarded her with a bit of wonder  
  
"Yes, little one, I know." There was something in the old woman's voice that stilled Kiry's shakes and made her feel save. "You have many questions, ones that we can answer. But I must say: how could I have not known when you were born? You winked into existence just hours ago. . .I though surly you must have just been born, a small babe. Yet you are not. A strange tale you must bear. Come, come child." The lady put her arm around the girl's shoulders and led her into a small hut towards the front and right of the village.  
  
The lady, whose name Kiry learned to be Falma, fondly called Bachan by everyone, did help her like she promised. She told her what she was. Kiry, who soon became known as everyone's musume-chan, was indeed a Kokoro Chikara, a Soul Mage, a mage from the heart. Her power, or Gift, came from her life-soul. Use it all up, and she died, her soul shredded into nothing, not even able to be a ghost in that state.  
  
It was moldable into anything for any purpose: spells, barriers, healing, the list went on longer than Falma could explain in one day. Her mind reading was a bonus that sometimes went along with the Gift. None had it strong enough that they could hear the thoughts of people a mile away, so teaching Kiry strong enough barriers for her mind was a little long in the process. She could never turn the telepathy off completely, but the barriers kept it in check enough that she could think without hearing them all the time. Only the really strong emotionally backed thoughts got through when she had the full barriers up.  
  
She became a part of the community in no time. The excepted her and her time travel story without question. Time travel had been a known practice with Chikara of years past, but it was hard to accomplish. Opening spacial portals was a tricky business, time portals were trickier still, and the two together were considered to be left for the Masters. Falma neglected to tell her that last bit though.  
  
Ryoku Furukuri came into her life unexpectedly when Falma decided that the two should take lessons together. They practiced bouncing fire and lightning bolts off each others barriers during lessons, and soon spent hours together outside of class driving the village nuts with their liking for trouble. Kiry also made friends with the dog-eared girl she had seen that first day. She turned out to be a lone wolf youkai named Kojiro. Koji had come to the village when she was a very young orphaned pup, and had remained there as a protector of the Mura.  
  
When she was 15, Ryu and Kiry's relationship went from friends to the little tingly feelings. Everyone said that they were perfect together, that Kiry's temper was balanced by Ryu's calming nature, and that her sarcasm matched his for a very interesting fight if they even managed to get one started, which if they did, hardly ever lasted long.  
  
On her 17th birthday, their lives changed forever when they got married. They were so happy. . .then came Naraku. The evil hanyou-or should it be said, one of his minions [*coughcowardcough*]-had captured a foolish and arrogant youth who styled himself a mage. The stupid boy had on him special texts that spoke of ways to gain a false power like the Chikara. Naraku, never being a one for passing up a chance for more power, immediately poured over the scrolls.  
  
They described a way to draw out the souls, and therefore the power and life-force, of humans, youkai, Chikara, and. . .children. Depending on what they were and how old they were, their souls gave more power to the thief. The rite to pass on and take the soul was slightly complex. It had to be done on a full moon night (typical), certain incantations had to be spoken, and blood mixing was to be performed in a certain manner or it didn't work. But it worked, it worked alright when Naraku started doing it. He started gathering people and performing the ritual, gaining more power. This power was worse though. He was gaining the false power of the Chikara. The Limitless.  
  
And one day he saw Kiry and Ryu together, laughing, so happy. He could feel the power rippling of the both of them and decided who his next victim would be.  
  
@}~~~~~~~^~~~~~~~~  
  
Kiry was sitting like a limp doll next to the fire, which had burnt down to small pile of glowing embers. The others sat with eyes riveted on the girl so thoroughly weaving a spell binding story about them.  
  
"Naraku came for Ryu one night. We. . .fought. He kept me from draining myself. . .to save him. We knew we couldn't win. Ryu was. . .almost dead. . .we ran into the woods, hiding. He. . .he didn't want. . .Naraku to get. . .to get his soul." Kiry was starting to cry as she stared into the red coals s if her being depended on it. "Without his soul. . .there was no hope. He'd be gone. . .forever. So he. . .he. . .sent his soul into exile. Into this."  
  
Kiry held out the glowing jewel at her throat. "His soul is trapped in this crystal. He spoke a. . .a ritual. . .that takes your soul out of your body and traps it, in crystals, where they lie dormant. It's a spell not commonly used, but the soul in the crystal can be drawn out by a Chikara only and made as part of their own power. Naraku couldn't use it in this form. I was no use to him drained. He left, saying he'd be back for me later." Kiry gripped the tear dropped shape in her hand like a life-line.  
  
She finally looked up at the others, her eyes coming to rest on Kagome. "The gods made a pact, that whoever kills Naraku can have a wish, one thing in all the world they want. And all I want is my husband back. I came to ask you for help in killing him. I knew when you were made known in this era. And when you woke the puppy up." She grinned weakly at the face he made at the nickname. "This world likes to gossip. If they ever stopped, the wind would cease blowing for its energy is gone."  
  
"I'm sorry I lied to you. I just. . .didn't know how to say it. If you don't want me around, I'll understand. I'll go back to the village. But, you're my only hope now. If you don't help me, I'll never get him back."  
  
Kiry suddenly toppled forward and clutched her stomach as if in pain. She started crying again, like she was dying. "My gods, Kagome, you don't know how hard it is. . .the worst thing about living in this world is being alive when the only person you ever fully loved isn't."  
  
Kagome scooted over to wrap her arms around her cousin. The sobbing girl leaned into her lap and cried. "It's not right! He's not here. . .like he should be. . .with me! It's not right. . ." Kiry trailed off, her voice spent.  
  
Kagome did the only thing she knew to do. She held her and rocked her back and forth, petting her hair. "There, there, Kir-chan. Everything's going to be alright. There, there."  
A/N: Yes, I'm late again, I know. I blame school, my friends, and my sister. Yeah, you Amber! *sticks tongue out at sis* LOL, j/k!  
  
Okay, explanations: READ~READ~READ~READ~READ~READ!  
  
Kiry's story was very abbreviated. There is a whole bunch more too it, but some of it she doesn't know, and some of it she's just not ready to tell. No, she wasn't lying bout her training in the shukusens or her other training. Yes, you will eventually get the whole story.  
  
On another note, I'm starting RP (Role-Playing) game in relation to 'Family Secrets'. The address for the site is . You can just past that link into your browser to get directly to it. There you can go and RP as a mage, a youkai, a hanyou, or a nigen. There are rules to abide by, clearly specified on the site, but otherwise just have fun! I'd love to have any and all who want to participate join the board! Kiry will be your guide in Kokoro Chikara no Mura, she'll tell you all the rules and take you on tour and then you're set to go! Just no asking her for spoilers, she won't tell. Her life on the board goes at the same time frame as the story so things will be added from time to time by me.  
  
Well, that's it for now! I hope to have an up-date up sooner than this time, but the likelihood of that is. . .what? Yeah, that's what I thought. *grin* But, I shall try, I promise. So, until next time, I love you all my faithful little readers who I really don't deserve!  
  
Ja matta ne!  
  
Aelii-chan, AKA: Mz. Lazybum  
  
~.^ 


	11. Fireside Powwow

**Disclaimer:** Go ahead and sue me for this story. I hope you will enjoy the whopping 3 cents you will get for your pains.  
  
**Family Secrets**  
  
**By:** Aelinwen Elentari  
  
**Chapter 11:** Fireside Powwow  
  
Kiry had finally stopped crying sometime after she stopped speaking. InuYasha held onto his temper as long as he could but that endless wailing had grated at his hearing. He didn't disrupt her story, for it fascinated him. Also, the fact that her sorrow over her lost mate was both real and justified definitely gained her back the points she had lost.  
  
Sango felt so many emotions: rage at Naraku for his cruelty, sympathy for Kiry, and confusion. She hadn't been expecting that story when she wanted an explanation for Kiry's strange behavior. What she had just heard blew way her mind. With Kiry's recitation of her past, she started to remember little snippets of things her parents had talked about, and she thought that the Chikara village had been one of them. Something about it being a refuge for those lost or in need of help. She'd have to ask Kiry about that later, when the girl woke up.  
  
Kagome had put Kiry in a sleeping bag, with InuYasha's help of course, after she had cried herself to sleep in the miko's lap. On thing was for sure, that girl wasn't dreaming tonight, she was so exhausted.  
  
Miroku sat in silence, reviewing all the information that they had been given. It certainly filled in all the blanks in the stories he had been given. He looked over at the sleeping girl, Shippo curled up next to her. He sighed and shook his head. More things had happened in the last two days than they had in a long time. And to think he had started to think things were getting a little boring...  
  
Kagome walked over and sat next to InuYasha. "What do you think we should do?" she asked, drawing her knees up to her chin.  
  
He shot her a side-glance. "You're asking me? Don't you already know what you're going to tell us to do?" he snorted. She always did. Personally he wasn't against letting Kiry stay with them. She wasn't a bad fighter, not in the least.  
  
Kagome blushed. He had a point: she was rather bossy. "Well...I know I'd like to help her, but...I dunno. We all have our vendettas against Naraku, and I know they're all equally important, but... well, you saw the look in her eyes. She wants to be the one to kill him. Kiry doesn't care about Shikon no Kakera, she only cares about the wish she can claim from... who- ever-they-are." Kagome looked down into her lap, her voice going a little softer. "And...I know you want to kill Naraku...for what he did to you and Kikyou."  
  
InuYasha shoved his hands into the baggy sleeves of his haori and looked up at the stars through the trees. _'Yes, he thought, I do want to kill Naraku, personally. I don't want even Kiry getting in the way of that. But...a lost mate...'_ His throat tightened, an urge to keen for her loss eminent in his mind. He shoved it back. The others wouldn't understand his way of paying his respect to Ryoku Furukuri. Well, Shippo would, but the others would probably look at him like he had died his hair green.  
  
_'And, what she said about that wish...one thing in all the world. All she wants is her mate back. All I want is the Shikon no Tama... right? Would I take that wish too? What would I wish for? Kikyou?'_ He transferred his gaze to the small fire, thinking about that. _'No...she died. She died in hatred and she carried that into the afterlife. There is no love left in her for me if she regained life. She would just spend the rest of her life hunting me down. And...I have no love for the woman she has become. I do feel guilty about her death...but...I didn't cause it. We allowed our trust in each other to be so fragile in the first place that it was easily broken.'_  
  
He sighed, almost bitterly, facing truths he kept shoving in the back of his mind. The broad difference between why Kiry and he fought to slay the same demon had made him look at his motives and feelings a little closer than he would have liked.  
  
Kagome's tiny shiver woke him from his musings a little and he leaned forward and tossed another log on the fire. It was wet but it burned smokelessly, oddly enough. InuYasha wondered fleetingly if Miroku had done something to wood to make it burn. _'An ofuda or something...'_  
  
"I think we should go to her village and see these Chikara for ourselves." Miroku pulled up his robes a little and sat down across from them, warming his hands over the fire. "I want to get a closer look at what they're capable of. Besides, they may be able to give us some current information on Naraku, as Miss Kiry wasn't." Now that he had found out that Kiry was married, or had been, or...something like that, he had been treating her with the reverence he reserved for chaste priestesses of Buddha.  
  
"Houshi-sama has a point." Sango came out of the darkness with a small armful of fire wood. She dropped it next to the fire and plunked down, well out of Miroku's groping range. He did a notable job of not being offended. Sango continued her thought without noticing. "If these Chikara are as powerful as the monk and Kagome's itoko make them out to be, and Naraku has his eye on them, they may know something. Watched prey learns it's enemy's habits and movements, or it's an ill prepared lunch."  
  
Golden eyes stared into the fire, seemingly lit from within. "We'll leave in the morning. Kiry will take us there, if she knows what's good for her. For now, get some sleep." With his usual effortless grace, the young hanyou rose to his feet, and bounced up to the nearest branch in the tree above them.  
  
Kagome stood up, albeit with less grace, and stretched, yawning widely. "Good idea. I'm cashing in...it's been a long day. Night minna." As she trotted off to her sleeping bag she sent a halfhearted wave over her shoulder.  
  
Miroku and Sango sat still by the fire a few minutes more, until the monk stretched as well. "Well, Sango, I think Miss Kagome and InuYasha are right...that we should turn in." His arm stretched out to her as he casually lowered his arms.  
  
SMACK!  
  
His fingers twitched in the spot where her bottom had just been, as a red flag flared across his face.  
  
"Good night, houshi-sama." Sango's retreating back fell out of sight from the glow cast by the fire.  
  
Miroku sighed. And crawled into his sleeping sack yet again with a stinging cheek and quite alone.

**A/N:** Very short, I know, after no writing for, god, a real fucking long time. I'll try to get back in the swing of things, kaie? I've been spending a lot of time writing my own stories on FictionPress.com under the penname Bloody Ashes, so I haven't done too much FanFiction. I'll work on the next chapter, which will be longer, promise.

3,

Aelii


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